Hurricane Melissa, now a powerful Category 5 storm, is bearing down on Jamaica and is forecast to be the worst storm in the island's history.

Hurricane Melissa intensified into a Category 5 storm Monday as it drew closer to Jamaica, where forecasters expected it to unleash catastrophic flooding, landslides and widespread damage.

Melissa would be the strongest hurricane in recorded history to directly hit the small Caribbean nation, said Jonathan Porter, chief meteorologist at AccuWeather.