KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Hurricane Melissa rapidly strengthened into a major Category 3 hurricane as it unleashed torrential rain in the northern Caribbean and threatened catastrophic flooding and landslides in Jamaica and southern Haiti.
U.S. forecasters warned that the slow-moving Melissa is expected to strengthen further and be a major hurricane when making landfall in Jamaica early next week. It should be near or over Cuba by the middle of the week.
“I urge Jamaicans to take this weather threat seriously,” said Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness. “Take all measures to protect yourself.”
Melissa was centered about 125 miles (200 kilometers) south-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, and about 280 miles (455 kilometers) west-southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, late Saturday night. It had maximum sustained winds of 115 mph (185 kph) and was moving west at 3 mph (6 kph), the hurricane center said.
Melissa was expected to drop torrential rains of up to 30 inches on Jamaica and southern Hispaniola - Haiti and the Dominican Republic - according to the hurricane center.
The Cuban government on Saturday afternoon issued a hurricane watch for the provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo and Holguin.
Storm's slow
progress
The erratic and slow-moving storm has killed at least three people in Haiti and a fourth person in the Dominican Republic, where another person remains missing.
“Unfortunately for places along the projected path of this storm, it is increasingly dire,” Jamie Rhome, the center’s deputy director, said earlier on Saturday. He said the storm will continue to move slowly for up to four days.
Authorities in Jamaica said on Saturday that the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston will be closed at 8 p.m. local time. It did not say whether it will close the Sangster airport in Montego Bay, on the western side of the island.
More than 650 shelters were activated in Jamaica. Officials said warehouses across the island were well-stocked and thousands of food packages prepositioned for quick distribution if needed.
River levels rise
Haitian authorities said three people had died as a consequence of the hurricane and another five were injured due to a collapsed wall. There were also reports of rising river levels, flooding and a bridge destroyed due to breached riverbanks in Sainte-Suzanne, in the northeast.
“The storm is causing a lot of concern with the way it’s moving,” said Ronald Délice, a Haitian department director of civil protection, as local authorities organized lines to distribute food kits. Many residents are still reluctant to leave their homes.
The storm has damaged nearly 200 homes in the Dominican Republic and knocked out water supply systems, affecting more than half a million customers. It also downed trees and traffic lights, unleashed a couple of small landslides and left more than two dozen communities isolated by floodwaters.
The Bahamas Department of Meteorology said Melissa could bring tropical storm or hurricane conditions to islands in the Southeast and Central Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands by early next week.
Melissa is the 13th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30.
The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had predicted an above-normal season with 13 to 18 named storms.
____
Associated Press writer Evens Sanon in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, contributed to this report.
