Hundreds of holidaymakers have been plunged into chaos as they face being locked down in their hotel rooms until Wednesday as Jamaica faces its ‘worst ever hurricane’.

Hurricane Melissa is expected to unleash catastrophic flooding, deadly landslides, devastating damage and up to 40 inches of rain in just 24 hours on the small Caribbean island.

Melissa, which has already been blamed for seven deaths in the northern Caribbean, barreled toward Jamaica with destructive Category 4 winds early on Monday before intensifying to the highest level of Category 5.

Anticipating catastrophe for his country, Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness said: ‘I have been on my knees in prayer.’

Authorities have urged residents to evacuate to one of 900 shelters across the island as the life-threatening storm surges to batter the region. Evacuation orders have been issued in seven southern regions, including in the Kingston area.

Britons holidaying on the island are also bracing for terrifying impacts as Melissa looks set to bring ‘catastrophic flash flooding’ which could cause ‘numerous landslides’.

Andrew Tracey is staying at a hotel with what he believes is around 200 other UK residents, and says he has been placed into lockdown in his hotel room until at least Wednesday.

Despite his attempts to get out of the country before Melissa rages in, Mr Tracey, who only arrived in Jamaica on October 20, said his flight was cancelled and that there was ‘nothing we could really do’.

‘If I knew that the hurricane would hit while I was out here, I wouldn’t have gone at all,’ he told Sky News.

‘It’s hard to comprehend what we’re about to expect. I’ve never experienced any kind of hurricane, let alone a Category 5.

‘The tension in the hotel last night when we went down for dinner was definitely one of nerves, even locals.’

The Foreign Office has issued a statement for UK nationals stuck on the island, in which they urged them to seek ‘hurricane shelter’.

They said: ‘Hurricane Melissa is approaching Jamaica. British nationals should follow our travel advice and the advice of the local authorities.

‘Tourists on package holidays should contact their travel provider for advice.

‘Worried about shelter? Find your nearest hurricane shelter via the Jamaican government’s list of available shelters.’

Yvette Cooper also said: ‘The UK is closely monitoring Hurricane Melissa as it approaches Jamaica.’

The Foreign Secretary said she has spoken to Jamaica’s foreign minister Kamina Smith ‘to offer our support’.

She added: ‘The FCDO stands ready to help British nationals 24/7. Follow our travel advice and the advice of Jamaican authorities.’

Jonathan Porter, chief meteorologist at AccuWeather warned: ‘This can become a true humanitarian crisis very quickly, and there is likely going to be the need for a lot of international support’.

Mr Porter said Melissa could be the strongest hurricane in recorded history to directly hit the small nation.

Some local areas of eastern Jamaica could get 40 inches of rain while western Haiti could get 16 inches, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. ‘Catastrophic flash flooding and numerous landslides are likely.’

Mr Holness, who has been the head of Jamaica’s government since 2016, said he does not believe his country could withstand a Category 5 storm and warned that there could be ‘significant dislocation’.

Three people have died and 13 were injured during preparations for the storm’s arrival in Jamaica, the country’s health minister Christopher Tufton said.

Melissa’s center is forecast to move over Jamaica on Tuesday, across southeast Cuba on Tuesday night and across the southeast Bahamas on Wednesday.

The slow-moving storm, which is lumbering along at just 3mph, has killed at least three people in Haiti and a fourth person in the Dominican Republic, where a 13-year-old boy also remains missing.

The hurricane’s slow pace means areas in its path could endure punishing conditions for far longer than most.

Melissa was centered about 125 miles south-southwest of Kingston, Jamaica, and about 310 miles south-southwest of Guantánamo, Cuba, on Sunday night.

It had maximum sustained winds of 150 mph and was moving west at 5mph, the hurricane center said. The hurricane could reach winds greater than 175 mph.

‘I want to urge Jamaicans to take this seriously,’ said Desmond McKenzie, deputy chairman of the island’s Disaster Risk Management Council. ‘Do not gamble with Melissa. It’s not a safe bet.’

Despite desperate pleas to evacuate, many Jamaicans have vowed that they will stay put in the face of the hurricane.

‘I am not moving. I don’t believe I can run from death,’ Roy Brown, a plumber and tiler from Port Royal in Kingston, said.

Mr Brown blamed poor conditions and bad previous experiences at hurricane shelters for not wanting to flee.

Fisherwoman Jennifer Ramdial echoed that view, adding: ‘I just don’t want to leave.’

Mr Holness said evacuation was about ‘the national good of saving lives.’

‘You have been warned. It’s now up to you to use that information to make the right decision,’ he said during a briefing.

Hanna Mcleod, a 23-year-old hotel receptionist in Kingston, said she boarded up the windows at her home, where her husband and brother are staying.

She has also stocked up on canned corned beef and mackerel and left candles and flashlights throughout the house.

‘I just told them to keep the door closed,’ Ms Mcleod said. ‘I am definitely worried. This is actually the first time I’ll be experiencing this type of hurricane.’

In the farming community of Flagaman in St. Elizabeth, residents have hunkered down in a store.

Owner Enrico Coke said he opened his place for fear that his neighbors had nowhere to go, saying: ‘I’m concerned about farmers, the fishermen will be suffering after this.’

‘We’ll need help as soon as possible, especially water for the people.’

Melissa is expected to make another landfall later Tuesday in eastern Cuba.

A hurricane warning is in effect for Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo and Holguin provinces, while a tropical storm warning was in effect for Las Tunas.

Up to 20 inches of rain is forecast for parts of Cuba, along with a significant storm surge along the coast.

Melissa could be the strongest hurricane Jamaica has experienced in decades, said Evan Thompson, principal director at Jamaica’s meteorological service.

He warned that cleanup and damage assessment would be severely delayed because of anticipated landslides, flooding and blocked roads.

Melissa could become the first Category 4 hurricane to make landfall in Jamaica in recent history, Thompson said.

Gilbert was a Category 3 hurricane when it hit the island in 1988 and two recent Category 4 storms, Ivan and Beryl, did not make landfall, Thompson added.

In addition to the rainfall, Melissa is likely to cause a life-threatening storm surge on Jamaica’s southern coast, peaking around 13 feet above ground level, near and to the east of where the center of Melissa makes landfall, the US center said.

‘Don’t make foolish decisions,’ warned Daryl Vaz, Jamaica’s transport minister. ‘We are in a very, very serious time over the next few days.’

The storm already has dropped heavy rain in the Dominican Republic, where schools and government offices were ordered to remain closed on Monday in four of nine provinces still under red alert.

Melissa damaged more than 750 homes across the country, displacing more than 3,760 people. Floodwaters also have cut access to at least 48 communities, officials said.

In neighboring Haiti, the storm destroyed crops in three regions, including 15 hectares of maize at a time when at least 5.7 million people, more than half of the country’s population, is experiencing crisis levels of hunger, with 1.9 million of those facing emergency levels of hunger.

 ‘Flooding is obstructing access to farmland and markets, jeopardizing harvests and the winter agricultural season,’ the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization said.

Melissa is expected to continue dumping torrential rain over southern Haiti and the southern Dominican Republic in upcoming days.

A hurricane watch is in effect for the southeastern and central Bahamas and for the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Melissa is the 13th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30.

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted an above-normal season with 13 to 18 named storms.