Hurricane Melissa made landfall Tuesday in Jamaica as a fearsome Category 5 storm , bringing heavy floodwaters across the country's southwest and catastrophic winds that tore roofs off buildings.

The most powerful hurricane to lash the island since record-keeping began 174 years ago and one of the strongest Atlantic storms ever recorded, Melissa struck Jamaica with sustained winds of 185 mph, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said.

Melissa weakened somewhat after landfall, with the hurricane center saying in its latest update Tuesday night that winds were at 130 mph, a Category 4 speed. The storm was restrengthening as it approached eastern Cuba, the NHC said, and was expected to make landfall there as an extremely dangerous major hurricane early Wednesday morning.

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