<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Hurricane Melissa has strengthened into a Category 5 storm as it draws closer to Jamaica, where forecasters say it will unleash catastrophic flooding, landslides and widespread damage. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It is expected to be the strongest hurricane to hit the island since record-keeping began in 1851.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Melissa, blamed for six deaths in the northern Caribbean as it headed toward the island, was on track to make landfall on Tuesday in Jamaica before coming ashore in Cuba later in the day and then heading toward the Bahamas. It was not expected to affect the US.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/queensland-storms-weather-forecast-power-outages-amid-wild-winds-weather-hot-temperatures/911b4f1c-c726-40d6-809a-81c230ea5167"><strong><span>'Just horrific': Staggering scale of state's wild weather realised</span></strong></a><strong></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Hanna Mcleod, a 23-year-old hotel receptionist in the Jamaican capital of Kingston, said she boarded up the windows at her home, where her husband and brother are staying. She stocked up on canned corned beef and mackerel and left candles and flashlights throughout the house.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I just told them to keep the door closed," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I am definitely worried. This is actually the first time I'll be experiencing this type of hurricane."</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/hurricane-melissa-update-storm-intensifies-to-category-5-on-path-to-slam-into-jamaica-as-islands-strongest-recorded-storm/afebb313-b2b8-41c0-b7c4-6c4c24368dd7" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Category 5 is the highest on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale, with sustained winds exceeding 250km/h. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Melissa would be the strongest hurricane in recorded history to directly hit the small Caribbean nation, said Jonathan Porter, chief meteorologist at AccuWeather.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A storm surge of up to four metres) was expected along the coast in Kingston, which Porter said is home to critical infrastructure such as Jamaica's main international airport and power plants.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/father-of-three-year-old-who-died-in-police-station-foyer-will-remain-behind-bars-gold-coast/3c7f42e5-04a6-422a-abd3-ba0d4499f5b2"><strong><span>Dad refused bail after boy dies in police station foyer</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"This can become a true humanitarian crisis very quickly, and there is likely going to be the need for a lot of international support," Porter said in a phone interview.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>On Monday morning (early Tuesday AEDT), Melissa was centred about 230 kilometres south-west of Kingston and about 530 kilometres south-west of Guantánamo, Cuba, the US National Hurricane Centre in Miami said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The hurricane had maximum sustained winds of 266km/h and was moving west at 5km/h, the centre said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Some areas in eastern Jamaica could see up to 101 centimetres of rain while western Haiti could get 40 centimetres, according to the hurricane centre. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/tim-whetstone-instagram-posts-south-australia-politics/93162b8a-334c-4a56-9b6a-9a4ed97966a3" rel="" target="" title=""><strong><span>State MP forced to explain 'inappropriate' Instagram activity</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Catastrophic flash flooding and numerous landslides are likely," it warned.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Mandatory evacuations were ordered in seven flood-prone communities in Jamaica, with buses ferrying people to safe shelter.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But some insisted on staying.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I hear what they say, but I am not leaving," said Noel Francis, a 64-year-old fisherman who lives on the beach in the southern town of Old Harbor Bay, where he was born and grew up. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I can manage myself."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>His neighbour, Bruce Dawkins, said he also had no plans to leave his home.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I am not going anywhere," Dawkins said, wearing a raincoat and holding a beer in his hand. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The fisherman said he had already secured his vessel and planned to ride out the storm with his friend.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Several towns along Jamaica's southern coast already reported power outages as winds intensified throughout the night.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I don't think the storm will damage my house. My only concern is flooding, because we live near the sea," said Hyacinth White, 49, who said she had no plans to evacuate to a shelter before the call was disconnected.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><strong><span>A record storm for Jamaica</span></strong></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The slow-moving storm has killed at least three people in Haiti and a fourth person in the Dominican Republic, where another person remains missing. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Two people died in Jamaica over the weekend as they cut trees ahead of the storm, according to the country's emergency management office.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I want to urge Jamaicans to take this seriously," said Desmond McKenzie, deputy chairman of Jamaica's Disaster Risk Management Council. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Do not gamble with Melissa. It's not a safe bet."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In eastern Cuba, a hurricane warning was in effect for Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo and Holguin provinces, while a tropical storm warning was in effect for Las Tunas. Up to 51 centimetres of rain were forecast for parts of Cuba, along with a significant storm surge along the coast.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A tropical storm warning was in effect for Haiti.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Evan Thompson, principal director at Jamaica's meteorological service, warned that clean-up and damage assessment would be severely delayed because of anticipated landslides, flooding and blocked roads.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A storm of Category four or higher has not made landfall in Jamaica in recent history, Thompson said. Hurricane Gilbert was a Category three storm when it hit the island in 1988. Hurricanes Ivan and Beryl were both Category 4, but they did not make landfall.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The life-threatening storm surge was expected along Jamaica's southern coast, near and to the east of where Melissa is likely to make landfall, the US centre said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Don't make foolish decisions," warned Daryl Vaz, Jamaica's transport minister. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We are in a very, very serious time over the next few days."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><strong><span>A hit on Hispaniola </span></strong></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The storm already has dropped heavy rain on the Dominican Republic, where schools and government offices were ordered to remain closed on Monday in four of nine provinces still under red alert.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Melissa damaged more than 750 homes across the country and displaced more than 3760 people. Floodwaters also have cut access to at least 48 communities, officials said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In neighbouring Haiti, the storm destroyed crops in three regions, including 15 hectares of maize at a time when at least 5.7 million people, more than half of the country's population, are experiencing crisis levels of hunger.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Flooding is obstructing access to farmland and markets, jeopardising harvests and the winter agricultural season," the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Melissa was expected to keep dumping heavy rain over parts of Haiti as it moves north-east in the coming days.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A hurricane watch was in effect for the southeastern and central Bahamas and for the Turks and Caicos Islands.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em></em><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f"><em><strong><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></strong></em></a><em><strong><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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