The storm, which has already been blamed for four deaths in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, is likely to cause catastrophic flooding and landslides in the region, metereologists say.

On Sunday night, Melissa was centered some 205 kilometers (125 miles) south-southwest of Kingston, Jamaica, carrying maximum sustained winds of 239 kph (145 mph), according to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC).

Those winds could grow in speed to more than 250 kph if it does reach Category 5 strength on Monday as expected.

The hurricane, which is traveling westward at just 7 kph, is expected to move near or over Jamaica early on Tuesday before traversing Cuba into the southeastern Bahamas during the course of Wednesday.

Up to 1,016 mm (40 inches) of rain could hit parts of Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic, while the Meteorological Service of Jamaica said a storm surge of up to 4 meters (13 feet) was expected along the country's southern coast.

Several coastal areas have been put under evacuation orders, while the international airport in Kingston closed late on Saturday along with all seaports.

"This extreme rainfall potential, owing to the slow motion, is going to create a catastrophic event here for Jamaica," NHC Deputy Director Jamie Rhome said in a webcast briefing on Sunday.

"Conditions (in Jamaica) are going to go down rapidly today," Rhome said. "Be ready to ride this out for several days."

The southern regions of Haiti and the Dominican Republic will also face torrential rainfall through Monday.

Melissa is the 13th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from early June to late November. Weather experts have predicted up to 18 named storms in what would be an above-normal season.

It has already been blamed for three deaths in Haiti, with two people killed in a landslide on Thursday and a third daying after a tree fell on them amid heavy rain earlier in last week.

A fourth person was killed in the neighboring Dominican Republic, while a 13-year-old boy remains missing.

Nearly 200 homes in the Dominican Republic have been destroyed, while water supply to more than half a million people has been disrupted.

Climate scientists say that such extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and intense as the atmosphere warms, largely owing to human use of fossil fuels.

Hurricane Melissa strengthens as it bears down on Jamaica