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 – an island shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Officials urged residents in flood-prone areas to seek higher ground.
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The storm was blamed for downing a large tree that killed an elderly man in the coastal town of Marigot in southern Haiti, while five other people were injured in flooding in the central Artibonite area, according to the Civil Protection Agency.
The slow-moving storm was centred about 355km (220 miles) southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, and about 450km southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. It had maximum sustained winds of 75kph (45mph) and was moving north-northwest at 4kph, the US National Hurricane Center in Miami said.
A hurricane watch was in effect for Jamaica and the southwestern peninsula of Haiti from the border with the Dominican Republic to Port-au-Prince. A tropical storm warning also was in effect for Jamaica.
“The storm has been crawling and moving erratically,” the centre said.
Melissa was expected to remain over open water this week, but move closer to Jamaica and southwestern Haiti in coming days. It was expected to strengthen significantly by late Friday and become a major hurricane by the end of the weekend, possibly reaching Category 4 status by Tuesday.