Cuba’s president, President Miguel Díaz-Canel, warned residents to brace for a “very difficult night” as the island prepared for Hurricane Melissa to make landfall early Wednesday.

Hurricane Melissa was regaining strength Tuesday night as it was taking aim at Cuba after battering Jamaica throughout the day, forecasters said.

Hurricane Melissa is expected to hit eastern Cuba after passing Jamaica. NBC News’ Ed Augustin reports on how the island is dealing with power cuts, food shortages and an outbreak of tropical diseases as the storm approaches.

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.

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.

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.