H urricane Melissa has rapidly intensified into a Category 5 storm in the Caribbean, unleashing catastrophic wind, flooding, and storm surge across Jamaica and threatening nearby Cuba and the Bahamas. But what does this monster storm mean for New York?

Melissa is strengthening before landfall, is now a 180 mph Category 5, and one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes in history.

The International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) is bracing for up to 1.5 million people in Jamaica to be directly affected by the storm.