Hurricane Melissa live updates: No official death toll in Jamaica

The National Hurricane Center said in a bulletin early Tuesday that Hurricane Melissa "is expected to reach Jamaica and southeastern Cuba as an extremely dangerous major hurricane, and will still be at hurricane strength when it moves across the southeastern Bahamas."

Melissa is expected to move across Jamaica on Tuesday, reach southeastern Cuba by Wednesday morning and the southeastern or central Bahamas later on Wednesday, the NHC said.

U.S. Air Force "Hurricane Hunters" data indicated that maximum sustained winds are nearing 175 mph, with higher gusts, the NHC said. Hurricane force winds are extending up to 30 miles from the storm's center, the NHC added.

Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness warned in a post to X on Tuesday morning that "conditions continue to deteriorate ahead of hurricane landfall."

The prime minister shared the latest forecast for the storm in a government bulletin, which noted that the "core of Melissa is expected to move near or over Jamaica on Tuesday."

As Hurricane Melissa brings devastating conditions to the Caribbean, at least seven people have died in relation to the storm, according to the Associated Press.

Three people have died in Jamaica, three in Haiti and one in the Dominican Republic, where another person remains missing, according to the outlet.

The Ministry of Health and Wellness of Jamaica confirmed on Monday that, in preparation for the storm, three people died. Some of the deaths occurred while cutting down trees and from electrocution. There have also been 15 injuries involving falling off heights, like rooftops and car accidents, officials said.

-ABC News' Jessica Gorman

Hurricane Melissa remains a dangerous, Category 5 storm with landfall in western Jamaica expected Tuesday morning.

Melissa has winds of 175 mph and a central pressure dropping to 903 mb as of 11 p.m. ET on Monday night. Hurricane Melissa is now the strongest tropical cyclone on Earth in 2025.

The hurricane is moving very slowly at 2 mph, and the turn to the north-northeast is happening as it heads toward western Jamaica. Catastrophic winds, flooding, and storm surge are imminent for Jamaica Monday night through Tuesday. Conditions will deteriorate overnight.

Some fluctuations in intensity remain possible leading up to landfall -- but regardless of whether it’s a Category 4 or 5, the impacts will be the same.

Tropical storm conditions are happening in Jamaica on Monday night and the catastrophic hurricane-force wind conditions will arrive in western Jamaica by morning as it makes landfall. Locally, up to 40 inches of rain and up to 13 feet of storm surge along the south shore will remain possible in Jamaica.

Melissa will reach Cuba Tuesday night as a major hurricane before reaching the Southeastern Bahamas at hurricane strength.

-ABC News' Melissa Griffin