Tropical Storm Melissa slowly moved across the Caribbean Sea, posing a threat of hazardous landslides and life-threatening floods in Jamaica and southern Hispaniola, shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Tragically, the storm led to a fatal incident in Marigot, Haiti, where an elderly man lost his life due to a falling tree, while five others sustained injuries in the Artibonite area.
Authorities advised individuals residing in flood-prone regions to relocate to higher ground as the storm hovered approximately 345 kilometers southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, and 440 kilometers southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. With sustained winds of 80 km/h, Melissa crept 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 Haiti peninsula, while a tropical storm warning was in effect for Jamaica. The storm’s slow and erratic movement raised concerns, with predictions indicating potential strengthening into a major hurricane by the weekend due to warm waters and sluggish progression.
Barbara Campbell, a resident of Kingston, Jamaica, expressed her apprehension, having taken precautions by securing her home and stocking up on essentials. Jamaica prepared 881 shelters, closed courts, shifted schools to remote learning, and deployed sandbags to mitigate flooding risks in Kingston’s eastern area.
Jamaica’s Met Service director, Evan Thompson, warned of substantial rainfall up to 30 centimeters in the eastern region. In the Dominican Republic, numerous individuals sought refuge in shelters, while essential services and businesses were closed in nine provinces under alert due to water supply disruptions.
Haiti faced heightened concerns with its vulnerable infrastructure and past storm impacts. The UN allocated $4 million for humanitarian aid in Haiti, focusing on evacuation assistance, emergency shelter management, and hygiene support ahead of the storm’s anticipated impact. Melissa marked the 13th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season and was the first to develop in the Caribbean this year.
The Atlantic hurricane season, forecasted by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to be above normal, expected 13 to 18 named storms, with projections of five to nine hurricanes, including two to five major hurricanes, lasting from June 1 to Nov. 30.
