Hurricane Melissa has intensified into a category five storm while drawing closer to Jamaica, where forecasters expect it to cause catastrophic flooding, landslides and widespread damage.

At that strength, it would be the strongest hurricane to hit the island since record-keeping began in 1851.

The storm has already been blamed for six deaths in the northern Caribbean and is on track to make landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday, local time, before coming ashore in Cuba later in the day and then heading toward the Bahamas.

Anticipating the hardship in store for his country, Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness said: "I have been on my knees in prayer."

Category five is the top of the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale. Storms at that level have sustained winds exceeding 250 kilometres per hour.

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