Melissa is forecast to become the first Category 5 landfall in the Atlantic Basin since Dorian roared into the Bahamas in 2019. There have been 32 Category 5 hurricanes in the Atlantic since the use of satellites began in 1966, with 13 of those having formed in the past nine years.

Hurricane Melissa is on track to pass through the southeastern islands of the Bahamas, which are sparsely populated compared to the islands in the north of the archipelago. The two islands that are in the storm’s direct path, Crooked Island and Long Island, have a total population of just a few thousand people.

Brian Trascher, Louisiana national vice president of the United Cajun Navy, said this devastation reminds him of storms like Katrina, which is why he sent his team to help victims on the island.