Before the storm barreled north over Cuba, at least seven people died across the Caribbean as the storm approached Jamaica. See the storm's impact on Cuba.

Hurricane Melissa brought hurricane-force gusts to Bermuda overnight and will weaken as it heads north, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Maps show its forecast path.

In the last 25 years, a total of 10 major hurricanes have lashed the island. “Cuba is right in the center of things,” a weather historian said.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio pledges "immediate humanitarian aid" to Cuba as State Department responds to effects of Hurricane Melissa in the Caribbean.

Hurricane Melissa has devastated Jamaica, causing severe damage to fishing and farming communities. Prince Davis, a fisherman, discovered his boat and home were destroyed while he was in Nicaragua.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the State Department had issued a formal Declaration of Humanitarian Assistance for Cuba, where U.S. government aid is rare.

Jamaica is expected to be in the storm's eyewall, which refers to the band of dense clouds surrounding the eye of the hurricane. The eyewall generally produces the fiercest winds and heaviest rainfall, according to Deanna Hence, a professor of climate, meteorology and atmospheric sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Days of torrential rain and flooding from Hurricane Melissa have devastated parts of the Caribbean, displacing families and disrupting essential services across Jamaica, Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic.