Hurricane Melissa, now Category 3, threatens heavy floods in Jamaica, Haiti

As it dropped torrential rain in the northern Caribbean and threatened disastrous flooding and landslides in Jamaica and southern Haiti, Hurricane Melissa has quickly grown into a major Category 3 with potentially catastrophic consequences.

Forecasters in the United States warned Saturday that the lumbering Melissa is anticipated to strengthen as it makes landfall in Jamaica in the next few days or two.

According to Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness, “I urge Jamaicans to take this weather threat seriously.” Take all precautions to protect yourself.

Late on Saturday night, Melissa was concentrated about 200 kilometers (125 miles) south-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, and about 455 kilometers (280 miles) west-southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

According to the hurricane center, it had winds of 185 kilometers per hour (115 miles per hour) at its strongest.

The Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston will be closed, according to Jamaican authorities on Saturday. On the island’s western side, they did not specify whether they would close the Sangster airport in Montego Bay.

In Jamaica, more than 650 shelters were set up. According to officials, the island’s warehouses were well-stocked and thousands of food packages had been prepositioned for quick distribution if needed.

According to the hurricane center, Melissa was supposed to pour torrents of punishing rains of up to 76 centimeters (30 inches) down on Haiti and the Dominican Republic in southern Hispaniola.

By the middle of the week, it should be close to or over Cuba. Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo, and Holguin provinces were issued a hurricane watch on Saturday afternoon by the Cuban government.

At least three people have died in Haiti as a result of the storm’s unpredictable and slow moving movements, and one more is still missing in the Dominican Republic.

It is becoming increasingly dire, according to Jamie Rhome, the center’s deputy director, earlier on Saturday. He claimed that up to four days will pass slowly as the storm moves.

In Haiti, reports of rising river levels, flooding, and the destruction of a bridge in Sainte-Suzanne, in the northeast, were also reported.

As local authorities set up lines to distribute food kits, Ronald Delice, a director of civil protection for the Haitian department, said, “The way it’s moving is causing a lot of concern.” Many residents continue to be reluctant to leave their homes.

More than half a million customers have been impacted by the storm, which has affected nearly 200 homes in the Dominican Republic. Additionally, it caused a few minor landslides, downed trees, and blocked traffic lights, and isolated more than two dozen communities.

By early next week, the Bahamas Department of Meteorology predicted that Melissa could cause tropical storm or hurricane conditions on the islands of the Southeast and Central Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands.