Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday as a monstrous Category 5 hurricane, bringing fierce 185 mph winds, heavy rain and flooding, life-threatening storm surge, and power outages. Hurricane Melissa is one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record and is the most intense storm to hit Jamaica since records began being kept 174 years ago.

Jamaican officials warned Sunday that some communities may not survive “catastrophic” flash floods as Hurricane Melissa, a powerful Category 4 storm, inched slowly toward the island. Melissa was packing maximum sustained winds of 145 mph and moving west at 5 mph,