At least 30 people are dead and all of Jamaica has been declared a “disaster area” after Hurricane Melissa ripped down power lines and caused widespread flooding across the Caribbean.

Melissa is a deadly Category 5 hurricane and is expected to become to worst hurricane in Jamaica's history before it travels north to Cuba.

Hurricane Melissa is south of Jamaica and is poised to make landfall as a Major Category 4-5 hurricane sometime on Tuesday. The sustained winds are currently at

Hours from landfall, Hurricane Melissa is also slow moving like Hurricane Harvey in 2017, which could mean catastrophic flooding.

The eyewall’s destructive winds may cause total structural failure, particularly in higher elevations, leading to widespread infrastructural damage, prolonged power and communication outages, and isolated communities.

While Hurricane Melissa is forecast to pass well off South Carolina’s coast, the storm may offer insight into what the future could look like in cyclone-prone regions