KINGSTON, Jamaica —

Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica Tuesday. Officials and residents braced for catastrophic winds, flash flooding and landslides from the Category 5 storm, one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes in history.

Melissa made landfall around 1 p.m. ET in southwestern Jamaica near New Hope with winds of 185 mph, making it one of the most powerful hurricane landfalls on record in the Atlantic Basin.

The streets in the capital, Kingston, remained largely empty as Melissa approached with 185 mph winds, save for the lone stray dog crossing puddles and a handful of people walking briskly under tree branches waving in a stiff wind.

Desmond McKenzie, deputy chairman of Jamaica’s Disaster Risk Management Council, urged people to seek shelter and stay indoors as the storm

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