Couple celebrating 10th anniversary hunkered down in Jamaica ahead of Hurricane Melissa

NEGRIL, Jamaica -- A LeClaire, Iowa, couple is hunkering down in Jamaica as Hurricane Melissa churns through the Caribbean. Tony and Christina Malchodi traveled to Jamaica to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary at a resort in Negril. While the couple did get some of their planned festivities in, the celebratory trip was cut short as the resort locked down for the storm. "They have taken precautions by draining the pools. They've closed all the restaurants, the bars, taping of the windows. Some of them are boarded," Christina and Tony said. "Stacking all the loungers and tying them to trees." The couple added that light fixtures have been tied down and sandbags stacked in front of doorways to help mitigate any floodwaters. The two tried to get a flight back to the United States before the storm, but all of them were booked up. All of Jamaica's international airports are now closed. The town of Lucea is on the Malchodis' way to the airport and is known to experience severe flooding. "They've rebooked us to Thursday, but kind of who knows how that's gonna go," Tony said. "That's gonna depend upon getting to the airport, if the airport's even open." Now a Category 5 storm, Melissa is expected to make landfall in the early morning hours on Tuesday. Forecasters expect it to bring catastrophic flooding, landslides and widespread damage. At that strength, it would be the strongest hurricane to hit the island since record-keeping began in 1851. "If you ask any of the people that are from here, they're like, 'We've been through Gilbert, we've been through Ivan, Beryl,' they were like, 'it's good, you're safe,'" Christina said. "I'm like, it might not be your first, but it's ours, so we're just a wee bit concerned, you know." Waiting for the storm has been anxiety-inducing, Christina and Tony said, especially since it's their first hurricane and isn't the same ballgame as severe weather in the Midwest. "It's anxiety," Christina said about waiting for the storm to arrive. "You just want it to hurry up and get here and be done. The anxiety of the waiting for it...not being able to sleep and unsure if we're gonna have power, if we're gonna be able to reach our families, you know, those types of things, and concern for the people that live here as well." The couple said overall, they feel good about how their resort has handled the storm and are prepared to ride it out. They look forward to getting home to see all their children, grandchildren and four-legged babies.