Tropical Storm Melissa has become a hurricane and is expected to wreak havoc across the Caribbean with catastrophic floods, landslides and storm surges expected in Jamaica and southern Hispaniola.

Hurricane Melissa is located about 210 kilometres southeast of Kingston and about 400km southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, according to the US National Hurricane Center.

Its maximum sustained winds increased to near 150 km/h.

A hurricane warning is in place for Jamaica, and a hurricane watch for the southwestern peninsula of Haiti and parts of Cuba, including Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo, and Holguin.

"I would urge all my fellow citizens, now is the time to be prepared," Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness said during a press conference in Kingston, adding that the "entire Jamaica

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