Hurricane Melissa Threatens to Bring Catastrophic Flooding, Landslides to Jamaica, Haiti

Hurricane Melissa Strengthened to a major Category 4 hurricane on Sunday, it is unleashing heavy rain and threatens to bring flash floods and storm surges to the northern Caribbean, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

The center said those results could be “life-threatening and catastrophic” for parts of Haiti and Jamaica, especially since Melissa had the potential to intensify into a category 5.

The weather agency added that Melissa may reach the Southern Coast of Jamaica as a major current late Monday or Tuesday morning, and urged people on the island to seek shelter immediately.

“Conditions (in Jamaica) are going to go down quickly today,” Jamie Rom, Deputy Director General, said Sunday. “Be prepared to ride this for several days.”

Melissa could be the strongest hurricane to hit Jamaica, CBS News Philadelphia Meteorologist Andrew Kozak said Saturday.

“I urge Jamaicans to take this climate change seriously,” said Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness. “Take every step to protect yourself.”

Melissa is expected to dump heavy rains of up to 30 centimeters on Jamaica and South Hippaniola – Haiti and the Dominican Republic – According to the Hurricane Center. Some areas can see 40 centimeters.

It also warned that extensive damage to infrastructure, power outages and the isolation of communities in Jamaica were to be expected.

Melissa should be near or over Cuba by late Tuesday, where it could bring 12 inches, before moving to the Bahamas later Wednesday.

The Cuban government on Saturday afternoon issued a hurricane watch for the provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo and Holguin.

The preparation is in progress

The low-level and slow-moving storm killed at least three people in Haiti and a fourth in the Dominican Republic, where another person remains missing.

“Unfortunately in the areas along the path shown by this storm, it’s getting worse,” Jamie Rom, Deputy Hurricane Director, said earlier Saturday. He said the storm will continue to move slowly for up to four days.

The Jamaican government said that the main airport in Montego Bay, Sangster International Airport, will close there in the afternoon of the local area as the island’s emergency center has activated Contoctolol for high-level emergencies before Melissa.

The largest airport on the island, Norman Manley International Airport in the capital, Kingston, closed at 9 PM on Saturday.

“With the slowness of this system, it doesn’t allow you to recover. It will sit there, pour water while moving a little and that is a big challenge that we have to be aware of,” warned Evan Thompson, executive director of the Jamaica service.

“There is no place that will escape the fury of this storm,” Richard Thompson, Acting Director of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management, said.

He said all members of the National Rectals alert team are now fully awake.

More than 650 shelters operated in Jamaica. Authorities said warehouses on the island were well stocked and thousands of food packages were pre-positioned for immediate distribution if needed.

Damaged homes, rising water

Haitian authorities said three people died as a result of the storm and five others were injured due to a collapsed wall. There were reports of rising River levels, flooding and a bridge being destroyed due to breaching in Sainte-Suzanne, in the northeast.

“The storm is causing a lot of concern in the way it’s moving,” said Ronald Délice, director of the Department of Tourism Protection, as local officials lined up to distribute food kits. Many residents are still reluctant to leave their homes.

The storm damaged nearly 200 homes in the Dominican Republic and knocked out water supply systems, affecting more than half a million customers. It also reduced trees and street lights, revealing the small colors of small countries and leaving communities more than two minutes separated by floods.

The Bahamas Department of Meteorology said Melissa could bring a tropical storm or tropical storm to the southeastern islands and central Bahamas to the Turks and Caicos Islands early next week.

Melissa is the 13th named hurricane of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30.

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had predicted an above-normal period with 13 to 18 named storms.