Tropical Storm Melissa was nearly stationary in the central Caribbean on Friday, with forecasters warning it could soon strengthen and brush past Jamaica as a powerful hurricane while unleashing catastrophic flash flooding and landslides in southern Haiti.
The erratic storm was expected to drop copious rain on Jamaica and the southern regions of Haiti and the Dominican Republic through the weekend. At least three people were reported killed in Haiti.
“The rainfall is a huge risk with the storm,” said Michael Brennan, director of the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami. “Rainfall has historically been the biggest cause of loss of life of tropical storms and hurricanes in the Caribbean.”
The storm was located about 215 miles (345 kilometers) southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, and about 250 miles (405 kilometers) southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. It had maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (75 kph) and was moving east-southeast at 2 mph (4 kph), the U.S. center said.
A hurricane watch and a tropical storm warning were in effect for Jamaica and the southwestern peninsula of Haiti.
