Historic, life-threatening flash flooding and landslides are expected in portions of Jamaica, southern Haiti and the Dominican Republic through the weekend, the NHC said. Peak storm surge heights could reach 9 to 13 feet above normal tide levels when the storm makes landfall, accompanied by large and powerfully destructive waves.

Cuba is bracing for Hurricane Melissa as it heads towards Santiago de Cuba, the island’s second-largest city, threatening catastrophic damage at a time the government is already failing to provide the most basic services and thousands are sick because of the rise of mosquito-transmitted diseases and other illnesses linked to poor sanitary conditions.

Melissa, a strong Category 5 hurricane, was within hours of landfall on the Caribbean island nation of Jamaica early Tuesday.

Jamaica is expected to be in the storm's eyewall, which refers to the band of dense clouds surrounding the eye of the hurricane. The eyewall generally produces the fiercest winds and heaviest rainfall, according to Deanna Hence, a professor of climate, meteorology and atmospheric sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

The National Hurricane Center warns that Hurricane Melissa poses a threat of catastrophic flash flooding and landslides in Jamaica, Cuba and Hispaniola. Experts highlighted the mountainous

Hurricane Hunters were forced to cut short their reconnaissance mission into the Category 5 Hurricane Melissa Monday morning, Oct. 27.

Melissa has already killed three people in Haiti and Jamaica each and one person in the Dominican Republic. United Nations staff are preparing to deploy to Cuba and Jamaica this week as the region nervously awaits landfall of Hurricane Melissa.