All Eyes On Jamaica, Haiti & Cuba With Hurricane Melissa Bring Flooding & Landslides

Hurricane Melissa intensified to Category 5 early Monday as it neared Jamaica. It’s forecast to dump up to 30 inches of rain on Jamaica there and bring a life-threatening storm surge. Melissa is forecast to make landfall on the island Monday night and Tuesday and cross southeastern Cuba and the Bahamas through Wednesday. Early Monday, Melissa was centered about 130 miles south-southwest of Kingston, Jamaica, the Miami-based U.S. National Hurricane Center said. The hurricane had maximum sustained winds of 160 mph and was inching west at 3 mph, the center said. Category 5 is the highest on the Saffir-Simpson scale, meaning it has winds of at least 157 mph — catastrophic strength capable of destroying many of the homes in its path. Melissa is the strongest hurricane in recent history to directly hit the small Caribbean nation. Some local areas of eastern Jamaica could get 40 inches of rain while western Haiti could get 16 inches, according to hurricane center. “Catastrophic flash flooding and numerous landslides are likely,” it warned. “Destructive winds and storm surge and catastrophic flooding will worsen on Jamaica through the day and into tonight,” CBS News meteorologist Nikki Nolan stressed.  The slow-moving storm has killed at least three people in Haiti and a fourth in the Dominican Republic, where another person remains missing, according to authorities. “I want to urge Jamaicans to take this seriously,” said Desmond McKenzie, deputy chairman of Jamaica’s Disaster Risk Management Council.

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Source: CBS News