Buenos Aires, 28 October 2025 (dpa/MIA) - Hurricane Melissa has continued to gain strength off the coast of Jamaica, reaching the highest hurricane category five, according to the US National Hurricane Center on Monday.

With sustained wind speeds of 280 kilometres per hour (km/h), the hurricane was still about 245 kilometres from Jamaica's capital, Kingston, on Monday evening, the Miami-based centre said. The centre of the hurricane was moving at around 4 km/h.

Slow-moving hurricanes are considered particularly destructive because they linger over a region for a longer period.

According to the Jamaican Meteorological Service, the storm is expected to make landfall in the south-west of the island, between the parishes of Westmoreland and Saint Elizabeth.

A hurricane warning has been issued for Jamaica, as well as for the Cuban provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo and Holguín.

Melissa is expected to make landfall in Jamaica early on Tuesday morning. Even before the storm arrives, "destructive winds" and "catastrophic flooding" are expected, the centre said. When the hurricane reaches Jamaica, meteorologists anticipate storm surges of up to 4 metres in some areas along the southern coast.

Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness has ordered mandatory evacuations for several towns and called on the entire population to stay at home if possible and follow the authorities' instructions.

Civil defence authorities have set up 900 emergency shelters and Kingston Airport has been closed.

Melissa is expected to pass over south-eastern Cuba later on Tuesday as a "major hurricane," before reaching the Bahamas on Wednesday.

Cuban authorities are preparing to bring thousands of people from particularly vulnerable regions to safety. "Our priority is to protect the population," said President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez at a meeting of the National Defence Council.

Melissa has already left a trail of destruction in its wake as it moves through the Caribbean. Three people in Jamaica were killed in accidents while cutting down trees, while three people died in Haiti after heavy rain and one person in the Dominican Republic.

Tropical cyclones form over warm ocean waters. Experts say rising global warming increases the likelihood of severe storms.

The hurricane season in the Atlantic begins on June 1 and lasts until November 30, with storms named in alphabetical order.

Photo: EPA archive