Category 4 Hurricane Melissa is expected to bring "life-threatening and catastrophic" flash flooding and landslides to Jamaica, the southern parts of Haiti and the Dominican Republic over the next few days.

Kingston

Hurricane Melissa has rapidly intensified to a Category 4 storm as it approaches Jamaica, with winds reaching 145 miles per hour. The storm is producing heavy rainfall, strong gusts, and a storm surge that could reach up to 13 feet, posing significant risks to coastal and inland areas.

Authorities in Kingston have opened hundreds of shelters, but only a small number of residents have relocated, with many choosing to stay and protect their homes and belongings. Meteorologists warn that Melissa could become the strongest hurricane to ever hit Jamaica, with impacts expected to extend to eastern Cuba and the Bahamas as the storm moves on.

Hurricane Melissa, now Category 4, begins assault on Jamaica

We begin with a life-threatening hurricane churning in the Caribbean Sea and violent weather here in the United States. This is Goutier, Mississippi, along the Gulf Coast where a tornado surprised this driver in a parking lot today. Severe thunderstorms also pummeled Louisiana. This video from a suburb of New Orleans. And here is Hurricane Melissa that we've been talking about seen from the International Space Station. It is intensifying rapidly and could be the strongest storm ever to hit Jamaica. CBS's Jason Allen is in Kingston, the capital tonight, and leads us off. The wind is really starting to gust now along the shoreline here in Kingston. The rain has been falling in heavy bands on and off and the waterways, the channels that carry runoff out of the mountains are starting to run faster now. We saw the waves beginning to build in the fishing villages along the shoreline today. Fishermen pulled their boats up out of the water, parking them across the road. In flood-prone sections of the city, people shoveled dirt out of broken roads to fill sandbags. And during breaks in the rain, we saw some of them climbing onto rooftops to reinforce them and patch leaks. The Jamaican government has opened hundreds of shelters across the city, but in this region of more than a million people, only a few hundred people so far are staying in those shelters. Most people we talked to said they had no plans to leave their homes. They don't wanna leave their belongings unprotected during what could be the strongest storm to ever hit this island. Jason Allen, Force Tonight in Kingston, thank you. For more on Melissa's path, let's check in with CBS News meteorologist, Andrew Kozak in Philadelphia. Good evening, Jerrica. Serious situation tonight south of Jamaica. That is where we're finding Hurricane Melissa. Winds of 145 miles per hour churning there over water between 89 and 90 degrees. That's all that red color coding. We're talking about rainfall rates two to three inches per hour, a little bit more than that, and two to three feet when all is said and done. And that's not even the biggest concern because tonight we're also watching places like Kingston. Caught between the mountains and the bay, a storm surge of nine to 13 feet could push a wall of water in with nowhere else to go. And the interior section of the island lacks the resources and the structural components here to withstand winds of a hurricane anywhere between 140 and potentially 150 miles per hour. Middle of the week, it's eastern Cuba, and then the Bahamas we're gonna look for before this thing turns out to sea. Quick look at the lower 48, Pacific Northwest, the atmospheric river continues. Heavier rain and snow will eventually return as we head into the middle of the week. But tonight, Jerrica, all eyes and all concerns are on Melissa churning just south of Jamaica. All right, Andrew Kozak, thank you.

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Hurricane Melissa rapidly intensified from a Tropical Storm to a Category 4 hurricane in 24 hours and is still undergoing rapid intensification. It is expected to be a Category 5 storm by Monday. Melissa is forecast to bring life-threatening, catastrophic rainfall and storm surge to Jamaica, as well as Haiti and Cuba.

Category 4 Hurricane Melissa to bring catastrophic impacts

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Kingston's waterfront in Jamaica was empty on Saturday, with the first bands of rain from Hurricane Melissa hitting the island. But in some parts of the city, they are still racing to prepare for the storm. Jason Allen reports.

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