Officials in Jamaica are casting a wary eye on the shore as Hurricane Melissa prepares to makes landfall on the Caribbean nation Tuesday morning, the strongest storm in the nation’s recorded history.

The Category 5 storm is set to be the strongest to strike the island nation in 174 years when record-keeping began.

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

“The question now is the speed of recovery. That’s the challenge.”

As the storm approached, trees and powerlines were felled while residents faced devastating landslides in the torrential rain and wind.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami reports buildings in the path of Melissa’s eye could face “total structural failure,” and reported maximum sust

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