The heart of Jamaican life centers around its history of resilience. Here's 7 facts about life, culture and history in Jamaica.

Jamaica's central location in the Caribbean, the island has never recorded a direct landfall from a Category 4 or 5 hurricane, according to records from the National Hurricane Center (NHC) dating back to 1850.

Hurricane Melissa approaches Jamaica as a Category 5 storm. Some say that it resembles Hurricane Gilbert in 1988.

The last time Jamaica faced a storm of this magnitude was Hurricane Gilbert in 1988, which devastated much of the island.

Hurricane Melissa made landfall on Jamaica early Tuesday afternoon as a Category 5 storm, with maximum sustained winds of 185 mph -- the most powerful hurricane to strike the Caribbean island nation and one of the strongest on record in the Atlantic Basin.

That’s the challenge.” Newsweek reached out to the National Hurricane Center (NHC) by email for comment. As of Tuesday morning, Hurricane Melissa was an extremely dangerous Category 5 hurricane with maximum sustained wind speeds of 185 mph.

Hurricane Melissa left at least dozens dead and caused widespread destruction across Cuba, Haiti and Jamaica, where roofless homes, toppled utility poles and water-logged furniture dominated the landscape Wednesday.

Hurricane Melissa made landfall on Tuesday as a category five storm in Jamaica, where thousands of people remain without power. It was the strongest storm to have hit the country, with sustained winds of 185mph (298kph).