Large swaths of the western Caribbean are already in the throes of, or preparing for, Hurricane Melissa, which is expected to become the strongest storm ever recorded in Jamaica. Haiti, meanwhile, has already seen three deaths since Thursday, two of which were the result of landslides in the capital of Port-au-Prince, local authorities announced.
Region braces for rapid intensification
Tropical Storm Melissa, which had been churning over Haiti for the past couple of days, officially became Hurricane Melissa on Saturday morning, after its wind speeds topped 75 mph, officially crossing the threshold to become a Category 1 hurricane. However, the storm is expected to rapidly intensify to a Category 4 or 5 hurricane with winds in excess of 150 mph throughout the weekend.
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“Melissa has become a hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph,” the U.S. National Hurricane Center posted to X on Saturday. “Rapid Intensification is expected, and Melissa is forecast to become a major hurricane tomorrow.”
AccuWeather defines “rapid intensification” as wind speeds that increase by 35 mph in a 24-hour period, “allowing it to jump one or more categories in a very brief period of time.”
An unprecedented, slow-moving catastrophe
According to reports, what makes Melissa uniquely dangerous is its glacial pace, meaning areas such as Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, the Bahamas, and Turks and Caicos will be subject to its wrath for days. Jamaica is expected to experience the worst of it, with rainfall of 15 to 25 inches predicted by Tuesday.
“Melissa’s slow movement will bring a multi-day period of damaging winds and heavy rainfall beginning tonight, likely causing catastrophic flash flooding, numerous landslides, extensive infrastructural damage, long-duration power and communication outages, and potentially prolonged isolation of communities,” the National Hurricane Center wrote on Saturday.
Similar conditions were forecast for southwestern Haiti, including catastrophic and life-threatening flash flooding and landslides, as well as severe damage to critical infrastructure and “potentially prolonged isolation of communities.” Three people have already died in Haiti, including two who were killed in a landslide in the capital of Port-au-Prince, local authorities announced Thursday.
Melissa’s potential for a ‘humanitarian crisis’
AccuWeather meteorologist Alex Duffus said Melissa has the potential to create a “humanitarian crisis.”
“Melissa’s slow movement over the mountainous islands greatly increases the risk of catastrophic flash flooding and deadly mudslides,” Duffus said. “This can quickly escalate into a humanitarian crisis, where a large number of people are in need of basic supplies such as food, safe drinking water, housing and medical care.”
In the Jamaican capital of Kingston, a power plant, airport, shipping port, fuel terminal and water treatment plant are all at risk. “We have not had this experience before,” Evan Thompson of Jamaica’s Meteorological Service told reporters Saturday. “It’s important for us to consider this as an extraordinary situation.”
Melissa is currently not expected to hit the U.S., though it could bring stormy conditions and rough surf to the East Coast next week.
