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Tropical Storm Melissa lumbered through the Caribbean Sea on Thursday, bringing a risk of dangerous landslides and life-threatening flooding to Jamaica and southern Hispaniola. Officials urged residents of flood-prone areas to seek higher ground.
The storm was blamed for downing a large tree that killed an elderly man in the coastal town of Marigot in southern Haiti, while five other people were injured in flooding in the central Artibonite area, according to the Civil Protection Agency.
The slow-moving storm was centered about 215 miles (345km) south-east of Kingston, Jamaica, and about 275 miles south-west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. It had maximum sustained winds of 50mph (80km/h) and was moving north-west at 5mph, the US National Hurricane Center in Miami said.
A hurricane watch was in effect for Jamaica and the south-western peninsula of Haiti from the border with the Dominican Republic to Port-au-Prince. A tropical storm warning also was in effect for Jamaica.
“The storm has been crawling and moving erratically,” the center said.
Melissa was expected to remain over open water, but move closer to Jamaica and south-western Haiti later this week. It was expected to strengthen significantly by late Friday and over the weekend.
“The very warm waters and slow movement of this storm are a recipe for disaster,” said Alex DaSilva, AccuWeather’s lead hurricane expert. “Rapid intensification into a Category 5 hurricane is not out of the question.”
Barbara Campbell, who works in Kingston, Jamaica’s capital, said by phone that she had prepared her home and bought food and water ahead of the storm.
“I’m very worried,” she said.
In Jamaica, officials said 881 shelters would be made available as needed. Courts were ordered closed and schools were to switch to remote classes on Thursday.
Evan Thompson, director of Jamaica’s Met Service, said the island’s eastern region could see up to 12in (30cm) of rain. “Now that is significant rainfall, and that is the main thing that we should be mindful of at this time,” he said.
Dozens of people were already in shelters in the Dominican Republic, and schools, businesses and government agencies were closed in the nine provinces under alert. Dozens of water supply systems were out of service on Wednesday, affecting more than 500,000 customers.
“People must remain in their homes for security reasons,” said Juan Manuel Méndez García, emergency operations director.
Similar rainfall amounts were expected for southern Haiti and the southern Dominican Republic through Saturday, with even more rain possible locally depending on Melissa’s path later in the week. Heavy rain was also forecast for western Jamaica, southern Hispaniola, Aruba and Puerto Rico.
People were also concerned about the impact in Haiti, which shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic and has been devastated by past storms. Gang violence, poverty and ineffective governance mean storm preparations are limited.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) announced on Thursday that $4m was set aside to help more than 10,000 vulnerable people in Haiti before the storm. The money will go toward lifesaving evacuation support, cash transfers, emergency shelter management and water, sanitation and hygiene kits, the agency said.
Flooding is a big concern since Haiti reported 139 suspected cholera cases and five deaths in one week alone earlier this month after nearly three months of no cases.
“This outbreak is unfolding amid a severe deterioration of basic services in the capital, where only 11% of health facilities with inpatient capacity remain fully operational,” OCHA said.
Melissa is the 13th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, and the first named storm to form in the Caribbean this year.
The 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 111mph or greater.
The Atlantic hurricane season runs from 1 June to 30 November.
