Hurricane Melissa roared toward Jamaica with destructive Category 4 winds Monday and was expected to strengthen further before making landfall on the Caribbean nation with up to 30 inches (76 centimeters) of rain and a life-threatening storm surge.

Hurricane Melissa has developed into a Category 4 hurricane, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Sunday, adding that the maximum sustained winds have increased to 140 mph (220 km/h).

This slow movement is going to be one of the most problematic parts of Melissa as it brings days of torrential rain, flash flooding, storm surge and likely landslides due to the mountainous terrain.