Hurricane Melissa strengthened into a major Category 4 hurricane , with the possibility of intensifying to a Category 5 storm on Sunday night, unleashing torrential rain and threatening to cause catastrophic flooding in the northern Caribbean, including Haiti and Jamaica, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.

The weather agency said Melissa is likely to reach the southern coast of Jamaica as a major hurricane late Monday or Tuesday morning, and it urged people on the island to seek shelter immediately.

"Conditions [in Jamaica] are going to go down rapidly today," Jamie Rhome, the NHC's deputy director, said on Sunday. "Be ready to ride this out for several days."

Melissa was centred about 180 kilometres south-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, and about 445 kilometres south-sout

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