Hurricane Melissa is set to pummel Jamaica as a catastrophic Category 5 storm, the strongest to lash the island since recordkeeping began 174 years ago

Hurricane Melissa, now a Category 5 storm, is forecast to bring life-threatening winds, flooding and storm surge to Jamaica.

Hurricane Melissa was expected to bring catastrophe as it makes landfall in Jamaica with storm surges, flash floods and landslides in the worst storm to hit the Caribbean island this century, a U.N. weather official said on Tuesday.

"There is no infrastructure in the region that can withstand a Category 5," Prime Minister Andrew Holness said. "The question now is the speed of recovery."

KINGSTON/HAVANA (Reuters) -Hurricane Melissa began lashing Jamaica with violent gusts on Monday as the U.S. National Hurricane Center upgraded it to a Category 5 storm packing sustained winds of 165 mph,

Melissa will likely remain at Category 5 strength by the time it makes landfall in Jamaica midday or early afternoon Tuesday. Melissa is set to bring catastrophic winds, rain, flooding and storm surge to Jamaica,

As Hurricane Melissa, a Category 5 storm, heads toward Jamaica, Americans vacationing on the island are preparing to wait out the worst of the tropical storm.