Hurricane Melissa barreled through the Caribbean on Wednesday after thrashing Cuba's second-biggest city, isolating hundreds of rural communities, unleashing devastation in Jamaica and drenching Haiti, where at least 25 were killed, Reuters reported.

Melissa struck Jamaica on Tuesday as the strongest-ever hurricane to directly hit its shores, with sustained winds of 185 mph (298 kph), well above the minimum strength for a Category 5, the strongest classification for hurricanes.

As of 2100 GMT on Wednesday, Melissa was a Category 1 hurricane moving north-east through the Bahamas archipelago, which completed the air evacuation of nearly 1,500 people early, according to Reuters.