Hurricane Dean is bearing down in Jamaica, and Long Islanders with loved ones in the Caribbean are worried.

Michelle Fisher, a Baldwin resident whose father, sister, and uncle live in Jamaica, is extremely distraught.

?Spoke to my dad and sister this morning,? Fisher said. ?They?re getting prepared...But if it?s a Cat-5, there?s nothing anybody can do but just wait it out and see what happens.?

She said she would call her family throughout the weekend to make sure they?re okay.

Forecasters predict Hurricane Dean could grow to a powerful Category-5 when it's expected to hit Jamaica on Sunday. Packing maximum sustained winds near 150 miles per hour, the storm has already destroyed banana and sugar crops, and killed at least three in St. Lucia and Dominica.

Brian Yeekee, the owner of George?s Jamaican Bakery in Baldwin, has aunts and uncles in Jamaica.

Karen Yeekee, who also works at George?s Jamaican Bakery, survived Hurricane Gilbert when it tore through Jamaica in 1988. Now, she worries about her father and brothers who still live there.

The Prime Minister of Jamaica has ordered shelters to open across the island, and a hurricane warning has been issued.