Three people were killed in a landslide near Port-au-Prince, Haiti, as Tropical Storm Melissa crawled its way through the Caribbean, and on Friday authorities across the region were preparing for additional heavy rain and hurricane-strength winds throughout the weekend from the storm. Forecasters with the U.S. National Hurricane Center expect up to 20 inches of rain across Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
In Haiti, the country’s civil protection agency announced the deaths but provided no details on any additional damage there. In Sainte-Suzanne, a community in the northwest, a flooded Saint Martin River destroyed homes and a bridge.
In the Dominican Republic, schools and most government offices were closed on Friday because of the storm, and almost half of the nation’s provinces were on high alert, with the weather agency issuing a warning for heavy rains and flash floods.
Gloria Ceballos, the director of the Dominican Institute of Meteorology, said in a social media post that the storm was strengthening.
Officials in Jamaica said during a news conference on Friday that the storm would cause “quite a disturbance” into early next week as it churns nearby. Heavy winds are expected to begin battering the island on Saturday, officials said, continuing through the weekend.
People in Jamaica are cautioned to prepare for bad weather, with government officials reminding them to ensure they have access to any medications they might need, clean water and essential supplies in the event of an evacuation. The country is under a tropical storm warning and a hurricane watch as of Friday afternoon.
Tropical Storm Melissa is expected to become a Category 1 hurricane on Saturday and Category 3 or higher by Sunday, according to forecasters.
Aimee Ortiz covers breaking news and other topics.
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