Hurricane Melissa: Striking photos emerge as storm makes landfall in Jamaica

Heavy floodwaters surged through southwestern Jamaica on Tuesday as Hurricane Melissa slammed into the island as a catastrophic Category 5 storm, one of the most powerful ever recorded in the Atlantic.

Desmond McKenzie, deputy chairman of Jamaica’s Disaster Risk Management Council, urged people to seek shelter and stay indoors as the storm crosses the island.

In Kingston, the usually bustling capital, streets were eerily deserted except for a few hurried pedestrians and a stray dog splashing through puddles beneath trees bending in the gusts.