The most powerful storm to hit the region since 1988 could inundate some areas of eastern Jamaica with up to 40 inches of rain.

Hurricane Melissa, now a powerful Category 5 storm, is bearing down on Jamaica and is forecast to be the worst storm in the island's history. Melissa is set to bring catastrophic winds, rain, flooding and storm surge to Jamaica, where residents and tourists are sheltering in place. Landfall is expected early Tuesday morning.

South Florida organizations are gathering clothing, food and money to assist people affected by Hurricane Melissa in the Caribbean.

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. The storm is due to make landfall early Tuesday.

Will the 13th storm of the hurricane season be lucky and pass right over, or will it be the first to make landfall, potentially in Florida?

A fast-developing storm was expected to bring “unprecedented” amounts of rain to several countries, meteorologists said.

(WKYT) - Vacationers from Kentucky are being forced to evacuate Jamaica as Hurricane Melissa moves toward the island. Hurricane Melissa intensified to a category 5 storm Monday morning. It could be the strongest storm to hit the island since record-keeping began in 1851.

As restaurant owner Chris Mitchell serves up these Jamaican recipes, he can’t help but think about Hurricane Melissa as it heads toward his homeland.

Slow-moving hurricanes and tropical storms can be as dangerous as intense hurricanes, even when they are weaker. A textbook case of this happened in late October 1998.