Melissa Strengthens Into A Category 4 Hurricane, Threatening Catastrophic Flooding In Jamaica, Haiti

KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) – The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Hurricane Melissa strengthened into a major Category 4 hurricane Sunday night with the possibility of strengthening into a Category 5 storm, threatening to dump torrential rain and cause devastating flooding in the northern Caribbean, including Haiti and Jamaica.

The weather agency added that Melissa was likely to reach Jamaica’s southern coast as a major hurricane late Monday or Tuesday morning and urged people on the island to seek shelter immediately.

“I urge Jamaicans to take this weather threat seriously,” Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness said. “Take every precaution to protect yourself.”

Melissa was located about 120 miles (195 kilometers) south-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, and about 280 miles (450 kilometers) south-southwest of Guantanamo, Cuba, on Sunday morning. The hurricane center said maximum sustained winds were 140 mph (225 km/h) and moving west at 5 mph (8 km/h).

Melissa was expected to drop torrential rains of up to 30 inches (760 millimeters) over Jamaica and southern Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic), according to the hurricane center. Some areas could see as much as 40 inches (1,010 millimeters) of rain.

He also warned that major damage to infrastructure, power and communications outages, and isolation of communities in Jamaica could be expected.

Melissa will be near or over Cuba late Tuesday before moving toward the Bahamas late Wednesday, where up to 12 inches (300 millimeters) of rain could fall.

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

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

“Unfortunately, the situation is becoming increasingly dire for locations along the projected path of this storm,” Jamie Rhome, the center’s deputy director, said in a statement early Saturday. He said the storm will continue to move slowly for up to four days.

Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston will be closed at 8pm local time, authorities in Jamaica said on Saturday. It was not stated whether Sangster airport in Montego Bay on the west side of the island would be closed.

More than 650 shelters are operational in Jamaica. Warehouses across the island are well stocked and thousands of food packages have been prepared in advance for rapid distribution if needed, officials said.

Haitian officials said three people died due to the hurricane and five people were injured due to the collapse of the wall. There were also reports of rising river levels in Sainte-Suzanne in the northeast, flooding and the collapse of a bridge due to breaches in the riverbanks.

“It’s causing a lot of concern about the trajectory of the storm,” Ronald Délice, director of Haiti’s civil protection department, said as local officials organized lines to distribute food kits. Many residents are still reluctant to leave their homes.

The storm caused damage to nearly 200 houses Dominican Republic and disabled water supply systems, affecting more than half a million customers. It also caused downed trees and traffic lights, caused several minor landslides, and left more than two dozen communities isolated by floodwaters.

The Bahamas Bureau of Meteorology said Melissa could bring tropical storm or hurricane conditions to islands in the Southeastern and Central Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands early next week.

Melissa is the 13th storm 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 season with 13 to 18 storms.

Associated Press writer Evens Sanon in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, contributed to this report.