SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Tropical Storm Melissa was nearly stationary in the central Caribbean early Friday, with forecasters warning it could soon strengthen and brush past Jamaica as a powerful hurricane while unleashing catastrophic flash flooding and landslides in southern Haiti.
The erratic storm was expected to drop copious rain on Jamaica and the southern regions of Haiti and the Dominican Republic through the weekend. At least three people were reported killed in Haiti.
“The rainfall is a huge risk with the storm,” said Michael Brennan, director of the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami. “Rainfall has historically been the biggest cause of loss of life of tropical storms and hurricanes in the Caribbean.”
The storm was located about 165 miles (260 kilometers) southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, and about 275 miles (445 kilometers) southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. It had maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (75 kph), the U.S. center said.
A hurricane watch and a tropical storm warning were in effect for Jamaica and the southwestern peninsula of Haiti.
The National Hurricane Center warned that heavy rainfall will cause “catastrophic flash flooding and landslides across southwestern Haiti by this weekend into early next week.”
It warned that strong winds could also potentially last for a day or more over Haiti's Tiburon peninsula.
Haiti's Civil Protection Agency said Friday that a landslide in Port-au-Prince killed two people and injured another, with the death toll rising to three. Earlier this week, a large tree fell on an elderly man in southern Haiti and killed him, while five other people in the country’s central region were injured in flooding,
The U.N. said it has prepared more than 100 emergency shelters in Haiti’s southern region.
Melissa was expected to slowly begin moving closer to Jamaica over the weekend. It was forecast to strengthen into a hurricane by Saturday and become a major hurricane by the end of the weekend, possibly reaching Category 4 status by Tuesday.
Forecasters said Jamaica’s eastern region could get up to 14 inches (36 centimeters) of rain that could lead to flooding and landslides because the ground is already saturated from recent heavy rains unrelated to the storm.
Schools, health centers and government offices closed across Jamaica on Thursday, with authorities warning that all airports would close within 24 hours if a hurricane warning is issued.
“The situation is indeed serious,” said Matthew Samuda, Jamaica’s minister of economic growth and job creation.
Up to 14 inches (36 centimeters) of rain also was forecast for southern Haiti and the southern Dominican Republic, with higher amounts possible through Sunday.
The storm knocked out dozens of water supply systems in the neighboring Dominican Republic, affecting nearly a million customers. It also downed trees and traffic lights and unleashed a couple of small landslides.
All public schools across the Dominican Republic were closed Friday, while government offices in 12 provinces under alert would do the same, officials said.
“This is an event that we should be following minute by minute,” said Juan Manuel Méndez García, emergency operations director in the Dominican Republic.
Officials noted that evacuations in areas under alert were mandatory.
“The main thing here is to save lives. The risk is the enormous amount of rain," said Dominican President Luis Abinader.
Melissa is the 13th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, and the first named storm to form in the Caribbean this year.
The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had predicted an above-normal season 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 111 mph (178 kph) or greater.
The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30.
