KINGSTON, Jamaica —

Hurricane Melissa was set to pummel Jamaica on Tuesday as a catastrophic Category 5 storm, the strongest to lash the island since record-keeping began 174 years ago.

In a 10 a.m. update, the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said this is the "last chance to protect your life," calling Melissa an "extremely dangerous" hurricane. Advertisement

Hours before the storm, the Jamaican government said it had done all it could to prepare as it warned of catastrophic damage. The streets in the capital, Kingston, remained largely empty except for the lone stray dog crossing puddles and a handful of people walking briskly under tree branches waving in a stiff wind.

“There is no infrastructure in the region that can withstand a Category 5,” Prime Minister Andrew Holness s

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