Jamaica residents were warned Monday to "seek shelter now," as Melissa, a strong Category 5 hurricane, neared landfall and a humanitarian crisis was feared.

Hurricane Melissa has strengthened to a Category 5 storm and is expected to produce catastrophic floods and heavy infrastructure damage in Jamaica.

Portions of the island have already been doused with more than a foot of rain during Melissa’s approach, and forecasters said up to 30 more inches could be on the way.