“There is nowhere that will escape the wrath of this storm,” said Evan Thompson of Jamaica’s Meteorological Service. Melissa is already blamed for four deaths.

Jamaican officials issued dire warnings Saturday as Hurricane Melissa barrels toward the island, poised to become the strongest storm ever recorded there.

Melissa reached Category 4 status Sunday morning, with maximum sustained winds near 140 mph, the National Hurricane Center said in an advisory, warning of “life threatening and catastrophic flash flooding and landslides” in portions of Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic this week.

Melissa is “expected to be a major hurricane when making landfall in Jamaica Monday night or Tuesday morning and southeastern Cuba late Tuesday,” it added.