HURRICANE MELISSA REACHES RECORD INTENSITY AS ITS EYE NEARS JAMAICA . (PHOTO ).

 Hurricane Melissa reaches record intensity as its eye nears Jamaica 

Hurricane Melissa continues to strengthen as its eye nears Jamaica’s southwestern coast, with sustained winds now reaching 180 mph, making it one of the most intense hurricanes on record. Authorities have been urging residents and tourists to prepare for the storm, with many rushing to secure food, water, and other necessities ahead of likely prolonged power and communication outages.

Officials are warning that the hurricane’s extreme winds could cause "total structural failure" in buildings near its core. Melissa has been moving slowly over the warm Caribbean waters but is now being pulled northeast by a cold front, placing the center of the storm on a path directly across the island. Expected to make landfall late Tuesday morning or early afternoon, the storm has already caused fatalities and injuries, mostly from accidents while preparing for the storm. While more than 800 shelters are open across Jamaica, occupancy remains low in some areas, though numbers are expected to rise as conditions worsen. Authorities continue to stress that failure to evacuate or shelter could result in serious injury or loss of life.

Hurricane Melissa, currently 55 miles south-southeast of Negril, Jamaica, is moving north-northeast at 7 mph, with a forecast to accelerate toward the northeast in the coming days. The hurricane’s central pressure of 901 millibars is stronger than Hurricane Katrina’s before it struck the U.S. Gulf Coast in 2005. Melissa is the first Category 5 hurricane expected to make landfall in the region since Hurricane Dorian hit the Bahamas in 2019. Warnings remain in effect for Jamaica, parts of eastern Cuba, and the southeastern and central Bahamas as emergency teams prepare for immediate response once the storm passes.