Melissa Becomes Monster Category 5 Hurricane 

Hurricane Melissa has intensified into a powerful Category 5 storm as it edges dangerously close to Jamaica, threatening the island with catastrophic rain, winds, and storm surges.

According to the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami, Melissa was located about 130 miles south-southwest of Kingston, Jamaica, and roughly 315 miles south-southwest of Guantánamo, Cuba, as of Monday. The hurricane is packing maximum sustained winds of 160 miles per hour and is moving slowly west at just 3 mph.

Melissa is expected to make landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday before crossing over Cuba and the Bahamas through Wednesday. The NHC warned that the slow-moving system could dump up to 30 inches of rain across the island.

Melissa now ranks as the strongest hurricane in recent history to threaten Jamaica directly. The storm’s slow pace and intensity have already proven deadly, at least three people have been killed in Haiti and one in the Dominican Republic, where another person remains missing.

Jamaican authorities have activated emergency shelters and issued evacuation orders for low-lying and coastal communities.