**Tropical Storm Melissa Poses Threat to Jamaica and Southern Hispaniola**
*SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP)* — 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 have urged residents of flood-prone areas to seek higher ground as precautionary measures.
In the Dominican Republic, dozens of people were already sheltering, with schools, businesses, and government agencies closed in the nine provinces under alert. Additionally, dozens of water supply systems were out of service as of Wednesday, affecting more than half a million customers.
In Jamaica, authorities announced that 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 Meteorological Service, warned that the island’s eastern region could receive up to 12 inches (30 centimeters) of rain.
“Now that is significant rainfall, and that is the main thing that we should be mindful of at this time,” Thompson said.
Similar rainfall amounts are 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 is also forecast for western Jamaica, southern Hispaniola, Aruba, and Puerto Rico.
Concerns are particularly high for Haiti, which shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic and has been devastated by past storms. Gang violence, poverty, and ineffective governance have limited storm preparation efforts in the country.
As of early Thursday, Melissa had maximum sustained winds of 50 mph (80 kph) and was moving west-northwest at 3 mph (5 kph), according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami. The slow-moving storm was centered about 300 miles (485 kilometers) south-southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and approximately 240 miles (390 kilometers) south-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica.
Melissa is expected to move closer to Jamaica and southwestern Haiti later this week. Forecasts indicate it will strengthen gradually and could become a hurricane by Friday and a major hurricane by the late weekend.
“Unfortunately, it is becoming increasingly likely that Melissa will become a large and dangerous hurricane,” the U.S. center warned.
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 (NOAA) had predicted an above-normal season, with 13 to 18 named storms expected. Of those, five to nine are forecast to become hurricanes, including two to five major hurricanes, which have winds of 111 mph or greater.
The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30.
https://wsvn.com/news/us-world/tropical-storm-melissa-lumbers-through-the-caribbean-as-islands-take-cover-from-rain/
