Hurricane Melissa is edging towards Jamaica and set to make landfall as a historic Category 5 storm, with winds of over 160 mph. Jamaica is bracing for what the National Hurricane Center said would be catastrophic flash flooding and landslides caused by up to 40 inches of rain in some places.

Life-threatening Hurricane Melissa is hurtling towards Jamaica in the Caribbean. Follow Newsweek's live news coverage.

Hurricane Melissa has strengthened into a Category 5 storm and is forecast to bring destructive winds and storm surge and "catastrophic flooding" to Jamaica through the day, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Hurricane Melissa rapidly intensified on its way toward Jamaica, where it may become the country’s strongest storm on record when it hits late Monday.

Hurricane Melissa strengthened into a major Category 4 hurricane, with the possibility of intensifying to a Category 5 storm Sunday night, unleashing torrential rain and threatening to cause catastrophic flooding in the northern Caribbean,

Hurricane Melissa is now a Category 5 storm. See the latest update for Monday, Oct. 27. Melissa intensified into a hurricane on Saturday, Oct. 25, as it continued its slow slog across the Caribbean Sea.

An intensifying Melissa is expected to bring destructive flooding to Jamaica, southern Haiti and the Dominican Republic before tracking toward Cuba next week.

Hurricane Melissa has rapidly intensified into a Category 5 storm due to warming oceans linked to climate change