Hurricane Melissa has slammed into Jamaica, officially making landfall near New Hope on the west/central part of the island early this afternoon as a Category 5 hurricane.

The storm is packing maximum sustained winds of 185 miles per hour. Dr. Michael Brennan of the National Hurricane Center in the United States this morning warned that the storm would bring “catastrophic wind damage” in the eye wall, amounting to “total structural failure.”

“This is an extremely dangerous life-threatening situation, take cover now” Brennan warned. “Catastrophic winds with total structural failure (is) likely near the path of Melissa’s core as the eye wall moves across portions of western Jamaica.” He says “catastrophic flash flooding, landslides and destructive winds are expected to cross the remainder

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