KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Hurricane Melissa has rapidly intensified into a major Category 3 hurricane, bringing torrential rainfall and posing severe flooding and landslide threats to Jamaica and southern Haiti. U.S. forecasters have warned that Melissa is expected to further strengthen, potentially being classified as a major hurricane as it approaches Jamaica early next week. The storm is predicted to be near or over Cuba by mid-week.
Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness urged the population to take the weather threat seriously, emphasizing the importance of personal safety measures. As of Saturday night, Hurricane Melissa was approximately 125 miles (200 kilometers) south-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, and about 280 miles (455 kilometers) west-southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The storm's maximum sustained winds reached 115 mph (185 kph) while moving west at 3 mph (6 kph), according to the hurricane center.
Melissa is expected to dump torrential rains of up to 30 inches on Jamaica and southern Hispaniola, which includes Haiti and the Dominican Republic. In response to the potential impact, the Cuban government issued a hurricane watch for the provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo, and Holguin.
The slow and erratic storm has already resulted in at least three fatalities in Haiti and another death in the Dominican Republic, with one person still missing. Jamie Rhome, deputy director of the National Hurricane Center, highlighted the increasingly dire situation for locations along the storm's projected path, noting that the storm is expected to move slowly for up to four days.
In preparation, Jamaican authorities announced the closure of Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston at 8 p.m. local time. While it remains unclear if Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay will close as well, more than 650 shelters have been activated throughout Jamaica. Officials indicated that warehouses are well-stocked, and thousands of food packages have been prepositioned for rapid distribution if necessary.
Haitian officials reported that three individuals have perished due to the hurricane, and another five were injured after a wall collapsed. There have been rising river levels, flooding, and the destruction of a bridge in Sainte-Suzanne, in the northeast. Ronald Délisle, a director of civil protection in Haiti, expressed concern about the storm's movement while local authorities organized food distribution lines. Many residents remained reluctant to evacuate their homes.
In the Dominican Republic, the storm has damaged nearly 200 homes, disrupted water supply systems impacting over half a million customers, felled trees and traffic lights, and caused small landslides, leaving many communities isolated by floodwaters. The Bahamas Department of Meteorology noted that Melissa could bring tropical storm or hurricane conditions to islands in the Southeast and Central Bahamas, as well as the Turks and Caicos Islands, by early next week.
Melissa is the 13th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had anticipated an above-normal hurricane season, predicting between 13 to 18 named storms.
