Hurricane Melissa strengthens to Category 5 as Jamaica braces for catastrophic winds, flooding

Hurricane Melissa strengthens to a Category 5 storm, heads for Jamaica

Hurricane Melissa intensified into a powerful Category 5 storm early Monday as it barreled toward Jamaica, threatening the island with catastrophic winds, torrential rainfall, and a life-threatening storm surge, officials and forecasters said.

Melissa, now the strongest storm to hit the region since Hurricane Gilbert in 1988, was packing maximum sustained winds of 160 mph (257 kph) as it approached the island’s southern coast, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. Its hurricane-force winds extended outward up to 30 miles (48 kilometers) from the center.

At 5 a.m. ET, the storm was located about 130 miles (210 kilometers) south-southwest of Kingston, Jamaica’s capital, and moving west at 5 mph (7 kph). The NHC warned that Melissa could intensify even further before making landfall.

The hurricane is expected to unleash between 15 and 30 inches (38–76 centimeters) of rain across much of Jamaica, with isolated areas in the island’s east forecast to receive up to 40 inches (1 meter), more than what some areas typically get in an entire year. “Catastrophic flash flooding and numerous landslides are likely,” the NHC warned.

“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.”

Authorities have evacuated low-lying communities and opened hundreds of shelters as the hurricane bears down. Desmond Mackenzie, Jamaica’s minister of local government and community development, warned that many areas “will not survive this flooding.”

The storm has already claimed at least four lives, three in Haiti and one in the Dominican Republic, with one person still missing. In Haiti and the Dominican Republic, Melissa has triggered flash flooding and mudslides, while Cuba is preparing for heavy rain and potential landslides beginning Monday.

A hurricane watch is in effect for the central and southeastern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands. The storm’s center is forecast to move over Jamaica on Tuesday, cross southeastern Cuba Tuesday night, and reach the southeastern Bahamas on Wednesday.

Although the system may weaken slightly after interacting with Jamaica’s terrain, the NHC said Melissa is expected to remain a major hurricane as it moves across the region and nears Bermuda later in the week.