Hurricane Melissa intensified on Tuesday before making landfall in Jamaica, where officials and residents braced themselves for catastrophic winds, flash floods and landslides from the Category 5 storm, one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes in history.

The streets in the capital, Kingston, remained largely empty as Melissa approached with 295km/h (185 mph) winds, save for the lone stray dog crossing puddles and a handful of people walking briskly under tree branches waving in a stiff wind.

Desmond McKenzie, deputy chairman of Jamaica’s Disaster Risk Management Council, urged people to seek shelter and stay indoors as the storm crosses the island.

“Jamaica, this is not the time to be brave,” he said.

The Jamaican government said it had done all it could to prepare as it warned of devastating damage from the strongest hurricane to hit the island since record-keeping began 174 years ago.

“There is no infrastructure in the region that can withstand a Category 5,” Prime Minister Andrew Holness said. “The question now is the speed of recovery. That’s the challenge.”