Jamaica, Melissa and Category 5
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Nineteen people are confirmed dead in Jamaica from Hurricane Melissa, which tore through the island as a Category 5 hurricane this week.
Jamaica is bracing for potentially its strongest storm to ever impact the island, as the slow-moving, major Category 5 hurricane closes in. AccuWeather's Leslie Hudson reports from Lake County, FL, where 16 inches of rain in 6 hours triggered a rare flash flood emergency, washing out roads and flooding homes.
It also marks the first time in 20 years that three or more Category 5 hurricanes have developed over the Atlantic Basin in one season. The last time was in 2005, when Hurricanes Emily, Katrina, Rita, and Wilma all reached Category 5—breaking a record.
Hurricane Melissa approached Jamaica as a powerful Category 5 storm as forecasters warned it would cause catastrophic flash flooding, life-threatening landslides and extremely strong winds across the Caribbean. The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami warned people in Jamaica to go to shelters and stay there during the storm.
Melissa tore through the Caribbean as one of the most powerful storms in history, slamming Jamaica as a Category 5 hurricane earlier this week.
The scale of devastation left by Hurricane Melissa is becoming clear after the record-setting storm tore through Jamaica, Haiti and Cuba, leaving at least 34 people dead. Although downgraded from a category five to a category two storm,