The Jamaican government said it had done all it could to prepare as it warned of massive damage from the strongest hurricane to hit the island since recordkeeping began 174 years ago.

Hurricane Melissa is set to bring catastrophic winds, flooding and storm surge to Jamaica, forecasters have warned.

The eyewall of Hurricane Melissa has reached the coast of Jamaica, with landfall expected in the next few hours around Crawford, on the southwest part of the island. Melissa is packing dangerous 185 mph winds and is moving north-northeast at 9 mph.

Hurricane Melissa is going to hit Jamacia today. Here's the latest forecast and spaghetti models for Category 5 storm.

With peak sustained winds of 185 mph and even higher gusts, Hurricane Melissa is forecast to be the strongest storm ever to strike Jamaica.

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.

The eyewall’s destructive winds may cause total structural failure, particularly in higher elevations, leading to widespread infrastructural damage, prolonged power and communication outages, and isolated communities.

Hurricane Hunters were forced to cut short their reconnaissance mission into the Category 5 Hurricane Melissa Monday morning, Oct. 27.