Hurricane Melissa Strengthens, Threatening Catastrophic Flooding in Northern Caribbean
The US National Hurricane Center warns of life-threatening and catastrophic flash flooding and landslides as Hurricane Melissa rapidly intensifies.
KINGSTON, Jamaica: Hurricane Melissa is strengthening rapidly, threatening to become a major hurricane and cause catastrophic flooding in the northern Caribbean, including Haiti and Jamaica.
The storm became a hurricane on Saturday, prompting US forecasters to issue a hurricane warning for Jamaica, with expectations that it could reach the island as a major storm early next week.
Forecasters predict that Melissa may reach Category 4 status.The slow-moving storm is expected to bring torrential rain, up to 25 inches, to Jamaica, according to the US National Hurricane Center.
Haiti's Tiburon peninsula in southwestern Haiti could experience up to 35 inches of rainfall.
The Cuban government has issued a hurricane watch for several provinces.As of late Saturday, Melissa had maximum sustained winds of 100 mph and was located approximately 130 miles southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, as well as about 260 miles west-southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
It is moving westward at 3 mph and is forecast to hit eastern Cuba early Wednesday, with up to 12 inches of rain in some areas.In Haiti, at least three people have died due to the storm, and another person remains missing in the Dominican Republic.
Authorities in Jamaica have closed the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston and activated over 650 shelters across the island.
Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness has urged residents to take the threat seriously and prepare accordingly.Haitian authorities report rising river levels, flooding, and a destroyed bridge due to breached riverbanks in Sainte-Suzanne, in the northeast.
Nearly 200 homes have been damaged in the Dominican Republic, and water supply systems have been knocked out, affecting over half a million customers.
The storm has also caused trees to fall and traffic lights to fail, leading to landslides and leaving more than two dozen communities isolated by floodwaters.The Bahamas Department of Meteorology warns that Melissa could bring tropical storm or hurricane conditions to the Southeast and Central Bahamas, as well as the Turks and Caicos Islands, early next week.
This year's Atlantic hurricane season began on June 1st and runs through November 30th, with predictions for an above-normal season including 13 to 18 named storms.
The storm became a hurricane on Saturday, prompting US forecasters to issue a hurricane warning for Jamaica, with expectations that it could reach the island as a major storm early next week.
Forecasters predict that Melissa may reach Category 4 status.The slow-moving storm is expected to bring torrential rain, up to 25 inches, to Jamaica, according to the US National Hurricane Center.
Haiti's Tiburon peninsula in southwestern Haiti could experience up to 35 inches of rainfall.
The Cuban government has issued a hurricane watch for several provinces.As of late Saturday, Melissa had maximum sustained winds of 100 mph and was located approximately 130 miles southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, as well as about 260 miles west-southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
It is moving westward at 3 mph and is forecast to hit eastern Cuba early Wednesday, with up to 12 inches of rain in some areas.In Haiti, at least three people have died due to the storm, and another person remains missing in the Dominican Republic.
Authorities in Jamaica have closed the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston and activated over 650 shelters across the island.
Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness has urged residents to take the threat seriously and prepare accordingly.Haitian authorities report rising river levels, flooding, and a destroyed bridge due to breached riverbanks in Sainte-Suzanne, in the northeast.
Nearly 200 homes have been damaged in the Dominican Republic, and water supply systems have been knocked out, affecting over half a million customers.
The storm has also caused trees to fall and traffic lights to fail, leading to landslides and leaving more than two dozen communities isolated by floodwaters.The Bahamas Department of Meteorology warns that Melissa could bring tropical storm or hurricane conditions to the Southeast and Central Bahamas, as well as the Turks and Caicos Islands, early next week.
This year's Atlantic hurricane season began on June 1st and runs through November 30th, with predictions for an above-normal season including 13 to 18 named storms.
