Hurricane Melissa bore down on Jamaica on Tuesday as a catastrophic Category 5 storm, the strongest to ever strike the island since records began nearly two centuries ago, reports AP.
Forecasters said Melissa would make landfall early Tuesday, cutting diagonally across Jamaica from St. Elizabeth parish in the south to St. Ann in the north, before heading toward Cuba.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness warned residents to brace for devastating destruction, saying, "There is no infrastructure in the region that can withstand a Category 5. The question now is the speed of recovery."
Ahead of the storm, Jamaica was already experiencing landslides, downed trees and power outages, with emergency officials warning that cleanup and recovery could take days. A storm surge of up to 13 feet (4 meters) is expected along southern coasts, threatening hospitals and low-lying communities.
Health Minister Christopher Tufton said some patients had been moved to upper floors to avoid floodwaters.
Melissa has already caused seven deaths across the Caribbean -- three in Jamaica, three in Haiti, and one in the Dominican Republic -- while one person remains missing.
By early Tuesday, the storm was located 115 miles (180 kilometers) west-southwest of Kingston, with 175 mph (280 kph) sustained winds, moving north-northeast at 5 mph (8 kph), according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.
"Many have never experienced anything like this before," said Colin Bogle, a Mercy Corps advisor near Kingston, describing widespread fear and uncertainty.
Officials urged residents to conserve clean water, as shortages are expected in the storm's aftermath.
Melissa was forecast to strike eastern Cuba late Tuesday, prompting hurricane warnings in Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo and Holguin provinces. Cuba has begun evacuating more than 600,000 people, officials said.
After Cuba, the storm is expected to turn northeast and reach the southeastern Bahamas by Wednesday evening, with hurricane and tropical storm warnings in effect across the region.