SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Tropical Storm Melissa was nearly stationary in the central Caribbean on 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.
“These heavy rains are just going to sit over one area for several days,” said Jamie Rhome, deputy director at the U.S. National Hurricane Center. “You’re talking about catastrophic flooding potential.”
The storm was located about 215 miles (345 kilometers) southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, and about 250 miles (405 kilometers) southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. It had maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (75 kph) and was moving east-southeast at 2 mph (4 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.
Up to 20 inches (51 centimeters) of rain is forecast for portions of southwestern Haiti and eastern Jamaica through Monday, with higher amounts possible in some areas. Up to 12 inches (30 centimeters) of rain was expected for the remainder of southern Haiti and for the southern Dominican Republic.
Catastrophic warnings for Haiti
The National Hurricane Center warned that heavy rainfall would cause “catastrophic flash flooding and landslides across southwestern Haiti by this weekend into early next week.”
It noted 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.
Wilgar Joseph, a 28-year-old who lives in the southern coastal town of Les Cayes with his mother, uncle and younger brother, said they were leaving their home out of safety because it has a zinc roof.
“I’ll stay with a friend whose home is on higher ground so I can protect myself in case it gets out of control,” he said.
Meanwhile, thousands of people who were forced out of their homes by gangs and are now living in makeshift shelters across Port-au-Prince worried about the storm’s effect in the capital.
“The message on the radio is to protect ourselves,” said Dina Georges. “How can I protect myself if I don’t have a home? I’m on the streets. And on top of that, I have two kids to protect.”
Nephtali Johnson Pierre, 35, echoed those sentiments: “I’m dealing with two storms: the gangs and the weather.”
She said she also worried about the spread of water-borne diseases following the storm.
UNICEF noted that suspected cholera cases rose by 188% between September and October.
‘A slow-moving disaster’
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 Sunday, possibly reaching Category 4 status before dawn on Monday.
Forecasters said that Jamaica could see life-threatening flooding and landslides because the ground is already saturated from recent heavy rains unrelated to the storm.
The storm is moving so slowly that parts of Jamaica could experience hurricane conditions for 72 hours or longer, said Alex DaSilva, AccuWeather’s lead hurricane expert.
“Melissa is evolving into a slow-motion disaster,” he said. “Millions of people are at risk of catastrophic impacts. We are increasingly concerned about the threat of a humanitarian disaster unfolding, especially if this storm stalls.”
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.
The Bahamas’ Foreign Affairs Ministry announced it would evacuate Bahamian students out of Jamaica on Friday ahead of the storm.
Flooding persists in Dominican Republic
The storm has damaged nearly 200 homes in the Dominican Republic and knocked out dozens of water supply systems, affecting more than half 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. Nearly two dozen communities were cut off by floodwaters.
“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.
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Sanon reported from Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
By DÁNICA COTO and EVENS SANON
Associated Press
