Kingston: Hurricane Melissa rapidly strengthened into a major Category 3 hurricane as it unleashed torrential rain in the northern Caribbean and threatened catastrophic flooding and landslides in Jamaica and southern Haiti. US forecasters warned that the slow-moving Melissa is expected to strengthen further and be a major hurricane when making landfall in Jamaica early next week. It should be near or over Cuba by the middle of the week.
According to Emirates News Agency, Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness urged Jamaicans to take this weather threat seriously and advised them to take all necessary measures to protect themselves. Melissa was centered about 125 miles south-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, and about 280 miles west-southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, late Saturday night. It had maximum sustained winds of 115 mph and was moving west at 3 mph, the hurricane center said.
Melissa was expected to drop torrential rains of up to 30 inches on Jamaica and southern Hispaniola, which includes Haiti and the Dominican Republic, according to the hurricane center. The Cuban government on Saturday afternoon issued a hurricane watch for the provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo, and Holguin.
The erratic and slow-moving storm has killed at least three people in Haiti and a fourth person in the Dominican Republic, where another person remains missing. Jamie Rhome, the Center’s Deputy Director, stated that the situation is increasingly dire for places along the projected path of the storm, and it will continue to move slowly for up to four days.
Authorities in Jamaica announced on Saturday that the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston will be closed at 8 pm local time. More than 650 shelters were activated in Jamaica, and officials reported that warehouses across the island were well-stocked with thousands of food packages prepositioned for quick distribution if needed.
The storm has caused significant damage in the Dominican Republic, damaging nearly 200 homes and knocking out water supply systems, which affected more than half a million customers. It also downed trees and traffic lights, triggered a couple of small landslides, and left more than two dozen communities isolated by floodwaters.