Heavy winds and flooded streets as Hurricane Melissa approaches Jamaica

Hurricane Melissa threatened Jamaica Monday with potentially deadly rains after rapidly intensifying into a top-level Category 5 storm, as residents scrambled for shelter from what could be the island's most violent weather on record.

Melissa has already been blamed for at least four deaths in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and was set to unleash torrential rains on parts of Jamaica in a direct hit on the Caribbean island. Part of the punch stems from Melissa's worryingly slow pace: it's lumbering along slower than most people walk, at just three miles per hour or less. Melissa is packing maximum winds nearing 165 miles per hour, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in its latest update.