Tropical Storm Melissa moved slowly through the Caribbean Sea on Thursday, posing a threat of hazardous landslides and life-threatening floods to Jamaica and southern 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 fallen tree, while five individuals sustained injuries in flooding in the Artibonite area.
Authorities advised residents in flood-prone regions to move to higher ground as a precaution. Melissa was located approximately 345 kilometers southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, and about 440 kilometers southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. It had sustained winds reaching 80 km/h and was moving northwest at a speed of 7 km/h, as reported by the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.
A hurricane watch was issued for Jamaica and the southwestern peninsula of Haiti, extending from the Dominican Republic border to Port-au-Prince, with a tropical storm warning in effect for Jamaica. The storm’s slow and erratic movement raised concerns, with predictions indicating that Melissa would remain over open waters but approach closer to Jamaica and southwestern Haiti in the coming days.
There were anticipations of significant strengthening by late Friday and over the weekend, with the potential for rapid intensification into a Category 5 hurricane, according to AccuWeather’s lead hurricane expert, Alex DaSilva.
Barbara Campbell, a resident of Kingston, Jamaica, expressed her anxieties about the impending storm, mentioning her preparations including securing her home and stocking up on essentials. Jamaica made 881 shelters available as required, closed courts, and transitioned schools to remote learning on Thursday. Additionally, preventative measures such as the placement of 1,000 sandbags were undertaken in eastern Kingston to mitigate potential flooding risks.
Evan Thompson, director of Jamaica’s Met Service, cautioned about the possibility of up to 30 centimeters of rainfall in the island’s eastern region, emphasizing the significance of preparing for substantial rainfall amounts. In the Dominican Republic, numerous individuals sought refuge in shelters, with closures of schools, businesses, and government offices in affected provinces. Moreover, water supply disruptions affected over 500,000 customers.
Concerns were particularly heightened in Haiti, where vulnerabilities from past storms, environmental degradation, gang violence, poverty, and governance challenges compounded the risks posed by Melissa. The UN OCHA allocated $4 million US to assist over 10,000 vulnerable individuals in Haiti with evacuation support, emergency shelter management, and essential supplies ahead of the storm.
Melissa marked the 13th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season and the first named storm originating in the Caribbean for the year. The NOAA had previously forecasted an above-average season with 13 to 18 named storms, including five to nine hurricanes, of which two to five could be major hurricanes with winds exceeding 178 km/h. The Atlantic hurricane season spans from June 1 to November 30.