Hurricane Melissa has strengthened to a category 5 storm and is set to hit Jamaica with up to a metre of rain, 160mph winds, and a dangerous storm surge.
Melissa is forecast to make landfall on Tuesday and move across Cuba and the Bahamas through Wednesday.
Category 5 is the highest on the Saffir-Simpson scale, with sustained winds exceeding 157 mph.
At that strength, it would be the strongest hurricane to hit the island since record-keeping began in 1851.
Some eastern areas of Jamaica and western Haiti are predicted to experience “catastrophic flash flooding and numerous landslides,” the US National Hurricane Center in Miami has warned.
Mandatory evacuations were ordered in flood-prone communities in Jamaica, with buses ferrying people to safe shelter.
• Subscribe to ITV News on YouTube: http://bit.ly/2lOHmNj
• Get breaking news and more stories at http://www.itv.com/news
Follow ITV News on TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@itvnews?lang=en
Follow ITV News on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itvnews/
Follow ITV News on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/itvnews/
Follow ITV News on X: https://twitter.com/itvnews
