Melissa Nears Jamaica as Category 5

Hurricane Melissa intensified to Category 5 strength Monday as it neared Jamaica with up to 30 inches of rain and a life-threatening storm surge, per the AP. Melissa is forecast to make landfall on the island Tuesday and cross Cuba and the Bahamas through Wednesday. Melissa was centered about 130 miles south-southwest of Kingston, Jamaica, and about 315 miles south-southwest of Guantánamo, Cuba, the US National Hurricane Center in Miami said. The hurricane had maximum sustained winds of 160mph and was moving west at 3mph, the center said.

Melissa is the strongest hurricane in recent history to directly hit Jamaica. Some local areas of eastern Jamaica could get 40 inches of rain, while a life-threatening storm surge is predicted on Jamaica's southern coast, peaking around 13 feet above ground level, near and to the east of where the center of Melissa makes landfall, according to the hurricane center. "Catastrophic flash flooding and numerous landslides are likely," it warned. The slow-moving storm has already killed at least three people in Haiti and a fourth person in the Dominican Republic, where another person remains missing. "I want to urge Jamaicans to take this seriously," said Desmond McKenzie of Jamaica's Disaster Risk Management Council. "Do not gamble with Melissa. It's not a safe bet."

The hurricane was expected to make another landfall later Tuesday in eastern Cuba. A hurricane warning was in effect for Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo, and Holguin provinces, while a tropical storm warning was in effect for Las Tunas. Up to 20 inches of rain were forecast for parts of Cuba, along with a significant storm surge along the coast. The storm already has dropped heavy rain in the Dominican Republic, where schools and government offices were ordered to remain closed on Monday in four of nine provinces still under red alert. Haiti, also hit with heavy rain, could get another 16 inches.