Hurricane Melissa is barreling into the Caribbean island of Jamaica on Tuesday, Oct. 28, with sustained winds over 180 mph, potentially more than two feet of rain and a life-threatening storm surge.

Hurricane Melissa has rapidly intensified into a Category 5 hurricane as it nears Jamaica, signaling a major escalation in the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season.

The International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) is bracing for up to 1.5 million people in Jamaica to be directly affected by the storm.