Hurricane Melissa intensified to Category 5 strength Monday as it neared Jamaica. “Do not venture out of your safe shelter,” the National Hurricane Center warned.

Hurricane Melissa strengthened into a Category 4 storm as it churned northwest through the Caribbean Sea on Sunday, taking a direct aim at Jamaica, according to the latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center (NHC).

Hurricane Melissa intensified to Category 5 strength Monday as it neared Jamaica, where forecasters said it would unleash catastrophic flooding, multiple landslides and extensive infrastructure damage.

Melissa rapidly intensified going into Sunday morning and is now a Category 4 hurricane with 140 mph winds. The US National Hurricane Center expects it to strengthen into a rare Category 5 hurricane on Sunday night or early Monday.

Forecasters say Melissa will unleash catastrophic flooding, landslides and widespread damage in Jamaica. At Category 5, the system would be the strongest hurricane to hit the island since record-keeping began in 1851.

Hurricane Melissa has intensified into a Category 5 storm as it draws closer to Jamaica, where forecasters say it will unleash catastrophic flooding, landslides and widespread damage

At that strength, it would be the strongest hurricane to hit the island since record-keeping began in 1851. Blamed for six deaths in the northern Caribbean as it headed toward the island, Melissa was on track to make landfall Tuesday in Jamaica before coming ashore in Cuba later in the day and then heading toward the Bahamas.

The storm's slow movement is expected to bring a deluge of rain to multiple countries in the Caribbean, and prolong its dangerous impacts over a period of several days.