'We're absolutely terrified': Millions brace for Hurricane Melissa's impact in Jamaica

"The trees are snapping, the wind is slamming into our rooms and the rain is relentless."

Keira Witcomb is among millions of locals and tourists awaiting the arrival of Hurricane Melissa, which is expected to hit Jamaica in the coming hours.

"We're absolutely terrified," Ms Witcomb, who travelled to the Caribbean island from the UK for her mother's wedding, told the BBC.

As the world's strongest storm of the year closes in, people describe frantic preparations, empty shops, and a pervasive sense of anxiety.

Damion, a computer scientist living in Kingston, told the BBC he had woken on Tuesday to winds "so strong you would not be able to stand up" outside.

At his mother's home, an hour away in Manchester Parish, "the winds have been so strong part of the roof has lifted off", he said.

Simon Johnson, 33, who lives in Harbour View in Kingston with his wife and two sisters, said the family had experienced hurricanes before - "but not one of this size".

Living just 200m (200yds) from the harbour, he told the BBC he was "feeling anxious".

"We have put plywood on the front of the house to protect against rain and wind," he said. "We have sandbags around the doors and we have tied down the shutters to protect the windows."

They have stockpiled a week's worth of food, he added, but many of the supermarkets are empty and he could not find any bread in the neighbourhood.

For days, people in Jamaica have waited and prepared as Hurricane Melissa makes its slow approach to the coast.

The strongest storm on record for the island nation - and the strongest globally this year - the National Hurricane Center warns of "catastrophic and life-threatening" conditions when it lands in Jamaica, with torrential rainfall, deadly flash flooding and landslides.

Three "storm-related deaths" on the Caribbean island have already been attributed to the storm - as people prepared by cutting down trees - as well as four deaths in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

The storm is expected to be particularly devastating along the coast of Kingston, where much of the country's critical infrastructure is located, including the international airport and power plants.

Mandatory evacuation orders have been issued by the government for at least seven areas in the southeast classified as high risk - with airports and schools across the country shuttered.

Power outages have rippled across Jamaica, with more than 200,000 people currently without electricity, according to the government.

Thousands of residents have taken refuge in government shelters, but many are thought to be reluctant to leave their homes.

Tourists have described being "stuck in limbo" with the country's two international airports closed, flights cancelled and limited information from airlines.

Rebecca Chapman, who travelled to Jamaica for her 25th wedding anniversary, said she had arrived on Thursday evening just as storm preparations began.

She is staying in Lucea, half an hour from Montego Bay on the coast, along with her husband and their three teenage sons.

"There's this weird roar that sounds like it's coming from the sea," she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. "It's really odd, like something's coming. The birds have all gone so it's all gone really quiet. It's like a ghost town."

Tim Hookway, a British national staying in Montego Bay, said the atmosphere had been "eerie and strangely muted the last couple of days".

Alex Baskeyfield, from West Yorkshire, is currently staying in the town of Negril on the west coast of the island with his wife and their 13-year-old daughter. He tried to leave Jamaica in the days before the storm hit but all departing flights were fully booked.

He described the atmosphere as "strange and unusual" with "extreme preparations" under way at his hotel - including windows shuttered with wood, everything being tied down, and ceiling fans and televisions removed.

"There's been an army of people for the last 48 hours unscrewing anything they could," he added.

"You do get a real sense that something incredibly serious is about to happen."

The Foreign Office has advised Britons in Jamaica to follow local authority advice, "especially in the event of any evacuation orders".