On Monday, Hurricane Melissa surged to a formidable Category 5 storm, setting its sights on Jamaica with a force that forecasters warn could bring catastrophic flooding, landslides, and widespread devastation. If it maintains this intensity, Melissa will stand as the most powerful hurricane to impact the island since record-keeping began in 1851.

Already, the hurricane has claimed six lives in the northern Caribbean as it barrels towards Jamaica. Expected to make landfall on Tuesday, Melissa’s path is projected to continue into Cuba later that day before heading towards the Bahamas. Fortunately, current forecasts suggest that the United States will remain unaffected by this particular storm.

In light of the looming crisis, Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness expressed his deep concern, stating, “I have been on my knees in prayer,” as the nation braces for the storm’s impact.

Across Jamaica, preparations are underway. In Kingston, 23-year-old hotel receptionist Hanna Mcleod has taken steps to safeguard her home by boarding up windows and ensuring her family is prepared for the worst. Stocking up on essentials like canned corned beef and mackerel, she has also strategically placed candles and flashlights throughout her house.

“I just told them to keep the door closed,” she remarked, voicing her anxiety. “I am definitely worried. This is actually the first time I’ll be experiencing this type of hurricane.”

Category 5 is the top of the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale, with sustained winds exceeding 157 mph (250 kph). Melissa would be the strongest hurricane in recorded history to directly hit the small Caribbean nation, said Jonathan Porter, chief meteorologist at AccuWeather.

A storm surge of up to 13 feet (4 meters) was expected along coastal Kingston, which Porter said is home to critical infrastructure such as Jamaica’s main international airport and power plants.

“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.

Melissa has been moving at a snail’s pace for days and it won’t pick up speed anytime soon as it tracks generally westward until Monday afternoon.

System has winds of 175 mph

On Monday afternoon, Melissa was centered about 145 miles (230 kilometers) southwest of Kingston and about 325 miles (525 kilometers) southwest of Guantánamo, Cuba. The system had maximum sustained winds of 175 mph (280 kph) and was moving west-northwest at 3 mph (5 kph), according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Parts of eastern Jamaica could see up to 30 inches (76 centimeters) of rain while western Haiti could get 16 inches (40 centimeters), the hurricane center said, citing the likelihood of “catastrophic flash flooding and numerous landslides.”

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

But some insisted on staying.

“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. “I can manage myself.”

His neighbor, Bruce Dawkins, said he also had no plans to leave his home.

“I am not going anywhere,” Dawkins said, wearing a raincoat and holding a beer in his hand. The fisherman said he had already secured his vessel and planned to ride out the storm with his friend.

Several towns along Jamaica’s southern coast already reported power outages as winds picked up throughout the night.

“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.

Storm could be most powerful to hit Jamaica in 174 years

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. Two people died in Jamaica over the weekend as they cut trees ahead of the storm.

“It’s nothing to play with,” said Water and Environment Minister Matthew Samuda. “The time for preparation is all but over.”

More than 50,000 customers were without power. Landslides, fallen trees and downed power lines were reported ahead of the storm.

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 20 inches (51 centimeters) of rain were forecast for parts of Cuba, along with a significant storm surge along the coast.

Cuban officials said they would evacuate more than 600,000 people from the region, including Santiago, the island’s second-largest city. Long bus lines formed in some areas.

Evan Thompson, principal director at Jamaica’s meteorological service, warned that cleanup and damage assessment would be severely delayed because of anticipated landslides, flooding and blocked roads.

A storm of Category 4 or higher has not made landfall in Jamaica in 174 years of record-keeping. Hurricane Gilbert was a Category 3 storm when it hit the island in 1988. Hurricanes Ivan and Beryl were both Category 4, but they did not make landfall, Thompson said.

Jamaican government officials said they were worried that fewer than 1,000 people were in the more than 880 shelters open across the island.

“It’s way, way below what is required for a Category 5 hurricane,” said Daryl Vaz, Jamaica’s transport minister, who urged people “to be smart … If you are not, unfortunately, you will pay the consequences.”

Drenching rain in the Dominican Republic and Haiti

The storm already has drenched the Dominican Republic, where schools and government offices were ordered to remain closed on Monday in four of nine provinces still under red alert.

Melissa damaged more than 750 homes across the country and displaced more than 3,760 people. Floodwaters also have cut access to at least 48 communities, officials said.

In neighboring Haiti, the storm destroyed crops in three regions, including 15 hectares (37 acres) 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.

“Flooding is obstructing access to farmland and markets, jeopardizing harvests and the winter agricultural season,” the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization said.

Melissa is the 13th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted an above-normal season with 13 to 18 named storms.

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Coto reported from San Juan, Puerto Rico. Associated Press Writer Andrea Rodríguez in Havana contributed to this report.