Hurricane Melissa latest updates: category 5 storm approaches landfall in Jamaica

Jamaican officials call on public to get to higher ground and shelters ahead of hurricane amid warning of ‘multiple life-threatening hazards’ Full report: Jamaicans take shelter as Melissa bears down on island Tell us if you’ve been affected by Hurricane Melissa Hurricane Melissa began as a cluster of thunderstorms off the coast of west Africa and travelled west and developed into a depression, reaching tropical storm status to the north of Venezuela a week ago. Its rapid intensification over the weekend strengthened Melissa to category 4 as it slowly moved west through the Caribbean Sea, reaching category 5 intensity on Monday morning with sustained winds of 160mph (257km/h).