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Cyclone Melissa is forecast to strengthen into a rare Category 5 cyclone as it veers towards the Caribbean island, delivering deadly rapid inundation and rock falls.

The hurricane, which recorded winds of up to 120 miles per hour as of 6:00 AM GMT, is presently veering northwest in the Caribbean region and is anticipated to reach land by midweek, according to weather experts.

Warnings of blackouts and structural damage have been announced as this storm generates up to 76cm of rainfall and coastal flooding as high as 4m above normal levels. "Find safe refuge immediately," inhabitants have been urged.

This hurricane is the thirteenth storm in this year's Atlantic season, which usually concludes in November.

Highest-Level Storm Danger

A Category 5 storm is the strongest type, with sustained winds of at least 157 miles per hour.

While this storm is projected to diminish in strength to a fourth-level hurricane before reaching Jamaica, experts said there was "very little practical difference in the overall impacts" upon reaching the coast, and that the cyclone will be "just as powerful" when it hits the island.

Urgent Safety Steps

With storm-force winds and rain anticipated well in advance long before it passes over central Jamaica - including potentially the city of Kingston - warnings emphasize that "preparations should be rushed to completion".

"Several days of damaging winds and torrential rain has started and will cause devastating and dangerous sudden floods and many rock slides," urged meteorological officials.

The nation's leader the statesman said: "I realize that there are many Jamaicans who are worried, who are extremely apprehensive, and appropriately: you should be concerned.

"Yet the best way to handle anxiety and any unease and concern is to be prepared."

Locals are being told to protect their properties with sandbags and wooden boards, and to stock up on necessary supplies.

Broader Impact

Alerts are also in effect for regions of Haiti including the main city, Port au Prince, the adjacent nation and eastern Cuba, where Melissa is anticipated to bring analogous consequences by the middle of next week.

Rock slides currently triggered by the cyclone have already killed two in Haiti, according to the nation's Civil Protection agency.

Expected Trajectory

The hurricane is predicted to pass over Cuba by the middle of the week before traveling via the Caribbean archipelago and out into the Atlantic Ocean.

By the point it reaches Cuba, it is forecast to have weakened to a Category 3 storm.

Climate Context

Although it is challenging to associate specific storms to global warming, scientists say it is making climate patterns more prevalent and more intense.

Warmer oceans generate greater water vapor in the environment, aiding in the creation of storms.

Before the commencement of the current Atlantic hurricane season, meteorological authorities projected above-normal activity, citing warmer seas and possible more intense weather patterns around West Africa - where hurricanes frequently develop.