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Hurricane Melissa is predicted to become a uncommon category five cyclone as it turns in the direction of the Caribbean island, delivering deadly rapid inundation and landslides.

The cyclone, which recorded winds of up to 120 miles per hour as of 0600 Greenwich Mean Time, is presently veering toward the northwest in the Caribbean Sea and is expected to hit the coast by early next week, according to hurricane specialists.

Advisories of blackouts and damage to infrastructure have been issued as the hurricane produces up to 30 inches of precipitation and sea level surges as high as 13ft above normal levels. "Take cover without delay," inhabitants have been advised.

Melissa is the 13th hurricane in the ongoing Atlantic season, which usually concludes in November.

Most Intense Hurricane Danger

A category five hurricane is the strongest type, with sustained winds of at least 157 miles per hour.

Although Melissa is expected to diminish in strength to a fourth-level storm before making landfall on Jamaica, authorities said there was "very little practical difference in the total effects" upon landfall, and that the hurricane will be "just as powerful" when it strikes the island.

Critical Safety Steps

With tropical storm-strength wind and rainfall anticipated well in advance well before it moves across the island's interior - including potentially the city of Kingston - advisories emphasize that "preparations should be rushed to completion".

"A multi-day period of harmful winds and torrential rain has started and will cause severe and deadly flash flooding and many rock slides," counseled meteorological officials.

The country's head of government the official commented: "I understand that there are countless citizens who are anxious, who are deeply troubled, and with good reason: worry is natural.

"But the best way to manage anxiety and any nervousness and worry is to be prepared."

Inhabitants are being told to fortify their houses with sandbags and plywood sheets, and to accumulate essentials.

Broader Impact

Warnings are also in effect for parts of the neighboring country such as the primary urban center, the adjacent nation and eastern Cuba, where this storm is anticipated to bring similar effects by the middle of next week.

Landslides presently generated by the hurricane have caused two deaths in Haiti, according to the nation's Civil Protection agency.

Expected Course

This weather system is projected to cross Cuba by Wednesday before passing across the Caribbean archipelago and emerging into the Atlantic.

By the point it reaches Cuba, it is predicted to have weakened to a category three hurricane.

Environmental Context

Even though it is hard to link individual weather events to environmental shifts, scientists say it is causing climate patterns more common and more extreme.

Higher ocean heat produce greater water vapor in the air, contributing to the formation of tropical cyclones.

Ahead of the start of this year's Atlantic storm period, meteorological authorities predicted higher-than-average occurrence, citing heated marine conditions and potential enhanced seasonal rains around West Africa - where hurricanes typically originate.