Tropical Storm Melissa has been pushing through the central Caribbean, with forecasters warning it could soon strengthen and brush past Jamaica as a powerful hurricane while unleashing potentially “catastrophic” flash flooding and landslides in southern Haiti.
The slow-moving and erratic storm was centred on Friday about 150 miles (245km) southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, and about 270 miles (430km) southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
It had maximum sustained winds of 45mph (75km/h) and was moving north at 3mph (6km/h), according to the United States National Hurricane Center in Miami.
It was expected to drop copious rain on Jamaica and the southern regions of Haiti and the Dominican Republic through the weekend as it strengthens into a major hurricane by the end of the weekend, possibly reaching Category 4 status by Tuesday.
Forecasters said Jamaica’s eastern region could see up to 14 inches (36cm) of rain that could lead to flooding and landslides because of the ground already being saturated due to recent heavy rains unrelated to the storm.
Melissa was blamed for downing a large tree that killed an elderly man in the coastal town of Marigot in southern Haiti, while five other people were injured in flooding in the central Artibonite area, according to the Civil Protection Agency.
The United Nations announced on Thursday that it was preparing more than 100 emergency shelters in Haiti’s southern region. Haiti has been devastated by past storms, given widespread erosion and limited preparation due to gang violence, poverty and weak governance.
The storm also knocked out dozens of water supply systems in the Dominican Republic, affecting more than half a million customers. It also downed trees and traffic lights and unleashed several small landslides.
All public schools across the Dominican Republic would close on Friday, while government offices in 12 provinces under alert would do the same, officials said.
In Jamaica, Matthew Samuda, the minister of economic growth and job creation, said the situation was “serious” and warned people not to be fooled by the storm’s current pace and strength. “Be very attentive, because it can change in a moment’s notice,” he said.
Melissa is the 13th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, and the first named storm to form in the Caribbean this year.
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had predicted an above-normal season – runs from June 1 to November 30 – with 13 to 18 named storms.
Of those, five to nine were forecast to become hurricanes, including two to five major hurricanes, which pack winds of 111mph (178km/h) or greater.
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