Workers board up shop windows ahead of Hurricane Melissa's forecast arrival in Kingston, Jamaica.

Hurricane Melissa intensified to Category 5 strength Monday as it neared Jamaica with up to 76 centimetres of rain and a life-threatening storm surge.

Melissa is forecast to make landfall on the island Tuesday and cross Cuba and the Bahamas through Wednesday.

Melissa was centred about 205 kilometres south-southwest of Kingston, Jamaica, and about 505 kilometres south-southwest of Guantánamo, Cuba, the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

The hurricane had maximum sustained winds of 260 kph and was moving west at 6 kph, the centre said.

Category 5 is the highest on the Saffir-Simpson scale with sustained winds exceeding 250 kph. Melissa is the strongest hurricane in recent history

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