Tropical Storm Melissa takes aim at Caribbean, islands on alert

As officials urge residents of flood-prone regions to seek higher ground and shelter, Tropical Storm Melissa is threatening the Caribbean Sea islands with dangerous landslides and life-threatening flooding.

Up to 12 inches (300mm) of rain could fall in Jamaica’s eastern region. The main thing to keep an eye on at this time is the amount of rainfall that is currently being experienced, according to Evan Thompson, director of Jamaica’s Meteorological Service.

Southern Haiti and the southern Dominican Republic were forecast for similar amounts of rain through Saturday, with additional rain possible later in the week, based on Melissa’s path.

West Jamaica, southern Hispaniola, Aruba, and Puerto Rico were among the areas that received heavy rain.

According to the US National Hurricane Center in Miami, Melissa was moving west at 2 mph (4 mph) by the evening of Wednesday night to reach its maximum sustained winds of 50 mph (85 km/h).

The slow-moving storm was centered about 335 miles (55 km) south-southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and about 295 miles (45 km) south-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica.

The storm could gradually strengthen in the coming days and develop into a hurricane by Friday and a significant hurricane by the weekend.

Already, heavy rains have slowed down traffic in the Dominican Republic, causing sports events to be canceled.

Melissa is the first named storm to form in the Caribbean this year and the 13th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecast 13 to 18 named storms along with an above-normal Atlantic hurricane season that starts on June 1 and ends on November 30.