Tropical Storm Melissa moved slowly across the Caribbean Sea on Thursday, posing a threat of hazardous landslides and potentially life-threatening floods to Jamaica and the southern regions of Hispaniola, a shared island between the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The storm caused a fatal incident in southern Haiti where an elderly man lost his life due to a falling tree, and five others sustained injuries in flooding in the central Artibonite area, as reported by the Civil Protection Agency.
Authorities advised residents in flood-prone areas to relocate to higher ground as a precautionary measure. The storm was positioned approximately 345 kilometers southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, and about 440 kilometers southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, with sustained winds of 80 km/h and a northwest movement at 7 km/h, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.
A hurricane watch was issued for Jamaica and the southwestern peninsula of Haiti, with a tropical storm warning in effect for Jamaica. The storm’s slow and erratic progress raised concerns, with expectations of it approaching closer to Jamaica and southwestern Haiti later in the week and likely gaining strength significantly by late Friday and over the weekend.
Alex DaSilva, AccuWeather’s lead hurricane expert, warned that the combination of warm waters and the storm’s sluggish movement could lead to a catastrophic scenario, with the possibility of rapid intensification into a Category 5 hurricane. Residents in the affected areas prepared for the storm, with Barbara Campbell in Kingston, Jamaica, expressing her apprehension and readiness by securing her home and stocking up on essentials.
Jamaican officials made 881 shelters available as necessary, closed courts, shifted schools to remote classes, and deployed sandbags in Kingston’s eastern part to mitigate potential flooding. Evan Thompson, director of Jamaica’s Met Service, highlighted the expected heavy rainfall in the eastern region, urging caution due to its significance.
In the Dominican Republic, several people sought refuge in shelters, and precautionary measures were taken with closures of schools, businesses, and government agencies in nine provinces under alert. Concerns were particularly high for Haiti, which faces challenges from past storms due to widespread erosion, gang violence, poverty, and governance issues limiting preparedness efforts.
The UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs allocated $4 million US to assist over 10,000 vulnerable individuals in Haiti ahead of the storm, focusing on evacuation support, emergency shelter management, and essential supplies. Melissa marks the 13th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, being the first to form in the Caribbean this year.
The Atlantic hurricane season, running from June 1 to Nov. 30, was predicted by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to be above normal, with expectations of 13 to 18 named storms, including five to nine hurricanes and two to five major hurricanes with winds exceeding 178 km/h.