Tropical Storm Melissa made its way across the Caribbean Sea on Thursday, posing a threat of hazardous landslides and potentially life-threatening floods to Jamaica and southern Hispaniola, a shared island between the Dominican Republic and Haiti. In southern Haiti, the storm caused the death of an elderly man after a large tree fell on him in the town of Marigot, with five others sustaining injuries due to flooding in the Artibonite area. Authorities advised residents in flood-prone areas to move to higher ground.
As of the latest update from the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami, the slow-moving storm was positioned approximately 345 kilometers southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, and about 440 kilometers southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. With maximum sustained winds of 80 km/h, the storm was moving northwest at a speed of 7 km/h. A hurricane watch was issued for Jamaica and the southwestern peninsula of Haiti, while a tropical storm warning was in place for Jamaica.
Experts warned that Melissa, anticipated to stay over open waters but draw nearer to Jamaica and southwestern Haiti in the coming days, could significantly intensify by late Friday and into the weekend. Alex DaSilva, AccuWeather’s lead hurricane expert, highlighted the danger posed by the storm’s slow movement over warm waters, stating that rapid intensification into a Category 5 hurricane was a possibility.
Local preparations were in full swing, with Barbara Campbell from Kingston, Jamaica, sharing her concerns and readiness for the impending storm. In Jamaica, over 880 shelters were on standby, with court closures and a shift to remote learning in schools. Efforts to mitigate potential flooding included the placement of 1,000 sandbags in Kingston’s eastern region.
Evan Thompson, director of Jamaica’s Met Service, cautioned that the eastern part of the island could experience up to 30 centimeters of rainfall, emphasizing the need for vigilance. In the Dominican Republic, numerous individuals sought refuge in shelters, while essential services were suspended in nine provinces. Concerns extended to Haiti, where past storms have caused significant damage, compounded by existing challenges such as erosion, gang violence, poverty, and governance issues.
A $4 million fund was allocated by the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs to assist over 10,000 vulnerable individuals in Haiti ahead of the storm, focusing on evacuation support, emergency shelter, and hygiene essentials. Melissa marked the 13th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season and the first to form in the Caribbean this year, aligning with NOAA’s forecast of an above-normal season with potentially 13 to 18 named storms. The Atlantic hurricane season spans from June 1 to Nov. 30.