Hurricane Melissa has been upgraded to a Category 5 storm, with destructive winds, storm surge, and catastrophic flooding expected to intensify in Jamaica, the National Hurricane Center said.

The erratic and slow-moving storm has killed at least three people in Haiti and a fourth person in the Dominican Republic, where another person remains missing.

Melissa increased into a near hurricane and is forecast to rapidly intensify into a possible Category 5 through portions of southern Hispaniola and Jamaica.