(MENAFN- Live Mint) (Bloomberg) -- Hurricane Melissa became the Atlantic season's third chart-topping Category 5 storm in the Caribbean, where it's expected to make landfall early Tuesday in Jamaica.

Melissa's top winds reached 160 miles (257 kilometers) per hour, threatening to bring widespread destruction to the island, as well as neighboring Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Cuba, where it will make a second landfall Wednesday. Destructive winds, a damaging storm surge and catastrophic flooding are expected to worsen Monday, the US National Hurricane Center said.

Melissa, currently about 130 miles south of Kingston, is forecast to dump as much as 30 inches (762 millimeters) of rain across parts of Jamaica, and the hurricane center has warned that the torrent could trigger landslides. More than 800 shelters have been opened across the island, and local authorities have staged heavy equipment to clear debris from roadways.

Losses may reach $14 billion on Jamaica and $5 billion in Cuba, said Chuck Watson, a disaster modeler with Enki Research. Melissa's total losses could climb even higher as it's expected to sweep through the southern Bahamas and possibly even approach Bermuda on Thursday.

Hurricanes Erin and Humberto also reached Category 5 strength in the Atlantic this year, though neither threatened land. Gabrielle reached Category 4 strength, which means four storms have become major hurricanes across the Atlantic in 2025, which usually only produces three by the end of October. The six-month season officially ends on November 30, but storms have historically formed in every month of the year.

A hurricane warning has been issued for four provinces in Cuba, where Melissa is forecast to hit after devastating Jamaica. Companies have evacuated workers and the US Navy pulled non-essential personnel out of its base on Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Melissa's slow crawl across the region makes flooding worse because its heaviest rains will linger for days. In a warmer world due to climate change, the atmosphere holds more water, worsening heavy rains from tropical systems.

Hurricane Melissa has the force to flatten homes, snap trees and touch off power outages that can last for weeks or months. It can also push a wall of water up to 13 feet into the coastline where it comes to shore. About half of all hurricane deaths come from drowning.

A hurricane watch is in effect for southeastern and central Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands. Flooding rains are also forecast across Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

After the storm rips through Jamaica and Cuba, it's forecast to move into the Bahamas. There is a chance it may menace Bermuda later in the week.

The only other time more than two Category 5 hurricanes formed in the Atlantic was 2005, which produced four - including Katrina, which devastated New Orleans, Phil Klotzbach, a storm researcher at Colorado State University said in an X post.

(Updates with storm details and warnings from third paragraph.)

More stories like this are available on bloomberg

©2025 Bloomberg L.P.

MENAFN27102025007365015876ID1110252226