Hurricane Melissa’s powerful winds and drenching rains devastated Jamaica. But is its wrath a sign that we need a new designation for monster storms?

Record-breaking Hurricane Melissa has renewed calls to amend the scale used to classify the strength of a hurricane and estimate the potential damage it could inflict when it makes landfall. Some scientists say the over-50-year-old Saffir-Simpson scale might not adequately convey the danger of high-end storms.

Hurricanes are classified on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, which ranks storms based on their sustained wind speeds and estimates potential damage. The scale has five categories, ranging from Category 1,

The scale of the devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa is emerging, with dozens of people known to have died in Haiti and four deaths reported in Jamaica - and the storm is now approaching the Bahamas.

The strongest storm to directly hit Jamaica before Melissa was Hurricane Gilbert in 1988, which made landfall as a category four hurricane, according to the US National Weather Service. Damaging winds and heavy rain have hit eastern Cuba, according to the latest update from the National Hurricane Center.

Influencer Hannah Grubbs is facing criticism after posting content from her trip to Jamaica amid Hurricane Melissa. The tropical cyclone is expected to hit the island on Oct. 28. At least seven people have died in connection with the Category 5 storm,

Hurricane Melissa has hit Cuba after leaving a trail of destruction in Jamaica, though the full extent of its impact remains unclear. Watch and follow live below.