Hurricane Melissa threatens catastrophic flash flooding and landslides in the Caribbean

The U.S. National Hurricane Center warned Monday that and numerous landslides in parts of Jamaica, Cuba and Hispaniola.

The annual death toll due to landslides in the U.S. is an average of 25-50 people and thousands globally, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Landslides — defined by the USGS as “the movement of a mass of rock, debris or earth down a slope” — are capable of traveling tens of miles (kilometers) per hour and can damage homes and block roads and rail lines.