People in Jamaica are bracing for the impact of Hurricane Melissa, which is forecast to unleash destructive winds and bring catastrophic flooding to the Caribbean nation in the coming hours.
Melissa was upgraded to a category five hurricane – the maximum strength – early on Monday, the US-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.
The authorities fear that Melissa, which has already been blamed for the deaths of four people on the island of Hispaniola, could become the strongest hurricane ever to hit Jamaica.
The Jamaican government has ordered evacuations for parts of the capital, Kingston, and the entire island has been classed as “threatened”.
An update from the NHC at 09:00GMT said that Melissa was about 130 miles (209km) south-southwest of Kingston, Jamaica.
It has maximum sustained wind speeds of 160mph (260km/h) and could strengthen further in the next 12 to 24 hours, forecasters warned.
If it continues on the forecasted track, its core is expected “to move near or over Jamaica tonight and Tuesday, across south-eastern Cuba Tuesday night, and across the south-eastern Bahamas on Wednesday”.
The storm is particularly slow moving, which makes it very dangerous in terms of expected rainfall amounts.
According to the NHC, 40 inches of rain (100cm) are possible in parts of Jamaica over the next four days.
Forecasters warn that destructive winds and life-threatening storm surges are expected to hit Jamaica overnight or early on Tuesday.
Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness has ordered the immediate evacuation of several vulnerable communities across the island.
Officials also urged residents in low-lying and flood-prone areas to seek shelter in safer areas.
Jamaica’s Minister of Local Government, Desmond McKenzie, told local media that all of the island’s 881 shelters were open.
At least three people are known to have died and hundreds of homes have been flooded in Haiti as Melissa brought torrential rainfall to the island of Hispaniola.
In the Dominican Republic, located on the eastern side of Hispaniola, one person also died.
Local media identified the victim as a 79-year-old man who had been swept away by floodwaters in the capital, Santo Domingo.
A 13-year-old has also been reported missing after being dragged away by strong currents as he was swimming in the sea.
Several people were rescued after being trapped in their cars by the rising floodwater.