With wind speeds of up to 175mph (282km/h), Hurricane Melissa is a category five storm - the maximum strength. It is intensifying and expected to make landfall on the Caribbean island early on Tuesday. It has been blamed for four deaths in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, in addition to the lives lost in Jamaica.

NEW ORLEANS ( WGNO) — Hurricane Melissa has become a truly historic storm — a powerful, slow-moving Category 5 hurricane that’s now setting its sights on Jamaica. The storm has strengthened rapidly and is packing devastating winds and torrential rainfall, with conditions expected to go downhill quickly late tonight into Tuesday.

Melissa is forecast to rapidly intensify into a major hurricane and bring life-threatening rainfall, landslides and storm surge to Jamaica, Haiti and elsewhere.

Tropical Storm Melissa is expected to bring days of heavy rain to the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Jamaica and may trigger life-threatening flash flooding, the National Hurricane Center says.