Heavy rains are forecast to fall further north along the U.S. East Coast later in the week, with a "marginal" risk of excessive rainfall, enough to cause isolated flash flooding, over the Appalachians and portions of the Ohio and Tennessee valleys on the evening of Oct. 29 and morning of Oct. 30.

Floods have hit Jamaica's capital Kingston as Hurricane Melissa moves across the Caribbean, with 30 inches (76cm) of rain expected in some parts of the country. Roads are blocked in the capital and some locals are wading through floodwaters to clear up the trail of wreckage.

Hurricane Melissa is among the strongest hurricanes to have formed in the Atlantic Ocean since records were kept, ranking as one the most powerful storms in terms of both wind strength and pressure.

Hurricane Melissa, which struck Jamaica with record-tying 185 mph winds Tuesday, was a beast that stood out as extreme even in a record number of monster storms spawned over the last decade in a superheated Atlantic Ocean.

Melissa’s 185 mph winds rival the most intense Atlantic storms on record. The Category 5 hurricane is threatening Jamaica with a storm surge of up to 13 feet.

Jamaicans Abroad Helping Jamaicans At Home, also known as the JAHJAH Foundation, partnered with the owner of the Original Dumpling Shop in the Bronx to create a drop-off location for donations. The owner says donors don't need to call ahead; just stop by during operating hours.

Up to 40 inches of rain, 13 feet of storm surge and 160 mph sustained winds will cause “extensive infrastructure damage” that will cut off communities, the National Hurricane Center warned. Melissa has already killed three people in Haiti and Jamaica each and one person in the Dominican Republic.

The two categories combined make up about 17 percent of all hurricanes in recorded history. Those reaching Category 5 — like Melissa — historically make up more like 4 percent of hurricanes. And fewer than half of the strongest two categories of hurricanes go on to hit land at such intensity.