Hurricane Melissa has made landfall as the strongest-ever storm in Jamaica as winds reached 295km per hour, leaving hundreds of thousands without power and three people dead.

The Caribbean nation of 2.8 million people are bracing for the worst after Melissa made landfall as a Category five on Tuesday near the town of New Hope, about 62 km south of Montego Bay.

Jamaica’s government said three people died, with four deaths also recorded in nearby Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

The nation has also suffered 13 injuries in preparations for the storm’s arrival.

The slow-moving storm, now a Category four, is forecast to remain a powerful hurricane as it crosses the mountainous island and heads towards Santiago de Cuba, Cuba's second-largest city.

Sky News Weather Meteorologist Tamsin Gree

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