What to know as Hurricane Melissa disrupts travel across the Caribbean

Hurricane Melissa has made landfall on Jamaica as the strongest storm to hit the Caribbean island since records were first kept 174 years ago. It is tied for the strongest Atlantic hurricane to ever hit land.

Melissa is a Category 5 storm with sustained wind speeds of 185 mph (295 kph). It is expected to slice diagonally across the island, entering near St. Elizabeth parish in the south and exiting around St. Ann parish in the north. A life-threatening storm surge of up to 13 feet (4 meters) is expected across southern Jamaica. The storm is expected to make landfall in eastern Cuba late Tuesday or early Wednesday.

Dr. Brian Schwartz, a professor at the University of Toronto, is advising travelers to avoid the Caribbean as the clean up begins.

WATCH MORE: Hurricane Melissa hits Jamaica as strongest storm ever, up to 297km/hr winds