Melissa, now a Category 5 storm, was expected to slam into the southern coast of Jamaica on Tuesday, Oct. 28, before approaching Cuba as a major hurricane and crossing the Bahamas, forecasters said. Melissa poses no threat to the United States.

Hurricane Melissa has developed into a Category 4 hurricane, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Sunday, adding that the maximum sustained winds have increased to 140 mph (220 km/h).

The authorities fear that Melissa, which has already been blamed for the deaths of four people on the island of Hispaniola, could become the strongest hurricane ever to hit Jamaica.