Melissa could be strongest hurricane to hit Jamaica in more than 170 years

Hurricane Melissa intensified into a Category 5 storm Monday as it drew closer to Jamaica, where forecasters expected it to unleash catastrophic flooding, landslides and widespread damage. At that strength, it would be the strongest hurricane to hit the island since record-keeping began in 1851.

Already blamed for seven deaths in the northern Caribbean as it heads toward the island, Melissa is on track to make landfall early Tuesday in Jamaica before coming ashore in Cuba later in the day and then heading toward the Bahamas. It is not expected to affect the United States.

Anticipating the hardship in store for his country, Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness said: "I have been on my knees in prayer."

By Monday night, Melissa was centred about 245 kilometres southwest of Kingston and about 535 kilometres southwest of Guantanamo, Cuba.

The system had maximum sustained winds of 280 kilometres per hour and was moving west-northwest at four kilometres per hour, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Parts of eastern Jamaica could see up to 76 centimetres of rain while western Haiti could get 40 centimetres, the hurricane centre said, citing the likelihood of "catastrophic flash flooding and numerous landslides."

"Do not venture out of your safe shelter," the center warned.

"Catastrophic flash flooding and numerous landslides are likely."

A storm surge of up to four metres was expected along coastal Kingston, which is home to critical infrastructure such as Jamaica's main international airport and power plants.

Mandatory evacuations were ordered in seven flood-prone communities in Jamaica, with buses ferrying people to safe shelter.

"I urge every Jamaican to prepare, stay indoors during the storm and comply with evacuation orders," Holness said in a video message posted on social media. "Check on your neighbours, especially the elderly and vulnerable, and continue to pray for our nation's safety."

Officials said the biggest storm surge was expected in the Black River community in western Jamaica, where Sandra Walker was the sole street vendor working just hours ahead of the hurricane.

"I have no choice but to be here," she said as she sorted potatoes, green bananas, tomatoes and scallion stalks in her stall.

Walker, a single mother of two, is still struggling to recover after Hurricane Beryl destroyed her business and home last year. She lives by the ocean but does not plan to go to a shelter because she had a "terrible" shelter experience during Hurricane Ivan, when the facility offered only a handful of tins of corned beef to share.