Hurricane Melissa has been upgraded to a Category 5 storm, with dangerous winds, storm surge and flash flooding expected in Jamaica, forecasters said.

The news “underscores the profound ecological toll that Hurricane Melissa will have on Jamaica’s biodiversity,” said one expert on the island.

A couple from the Darboy area is bracing for Hurricane Melissa while vacationing in Ocho Rios, Jamaica for their anniversary. John and Heather Hoffman were planning to fly home on6, Sunday, but the airport shut down less than three hours before their flight due to the approaching Category 5 storm.

Melissa strengthened into a deadly Category 5 hurricane Monday with catastrophic impacts expected across the Caribbean, similar to Sarasota last year.

"It is more than kind of distressing because you don't know when and you don't know how," said Ewan Simpson, who lives in Jamaica.