Hurricane Melissa is set to bring catastrophic winds, flooding and storm surge to Jamaica, forecasters have warned.

Roughly 1,000 military personnel and families have been flown to Pensacola ahead of the Category 4 storm that has killed at least seven people in Jamaica.

Rainfall. Melissa is expected to bring an additional 4 to 8 inches across Jamaica, where storm total amounts will be between 12 to 24 inches. Isolated areas near 30 inches will be possible over mountainous terrain. Ongoing catastrophic flash flooding and numerous landslides will continue through Tuesday night.

Melissa is a Category 5 storm with sustained wind speeds of 185 mph (295 kph). It was expected to slice diagonally across the island, entering near St.

Melissa is only the fifth Atlantic hurricane on record to achieve sustained winds of 185 m.p.h. or greater, joining the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935, Hurricane Gilbert (1988), Hurricane Wilma (2005) and Hurricane Dorian (2019).

American Peter Kong and his family are hunkered down in their hotel room in Jamaica as Hurricane Melissa approaches. Stocked up on food and water, Kong spoke to NBC News' Joe Fryer and Savannah Sellers about his current situation and said he and his family are bracing for the worst.

The Caribbean storm — among the most powerful in history, with 185 mph winds — is expected to bring flash-flooding and landslides as it slowly moves across the island and heads north toward Cuba.