Storm Melissa reaches hurricane strength, threatening catastrophic flooding in northern Caribbean

Storm Melissa now a hurricane as Jamaica hit with 75 mph winds, threatening catastrophic flooding and landslides across the northern Caribbean.

U.S. forecasters issued a hurricane warning for Jamaica Saturday as Storm Melissa reached hurricane strength, threatening catastrophic flooding in the northern Caribbean.

A hurricane warning means winds of at least 74 mph (119 kph) are expected in the area within 36 hours.

“Melissa has become a hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph,” the U.S. National Hurricane Center said Saturday afternoon. “Rapid intensification is expected, and Melissa is forecast to become a major hurricane tomorrow.”

The slow-moving storm was expected to drop torrential rain, up to 25 inches (64 centimeters), on Jamaica, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.

A similar forecast was issued for the southern regions of Haiti and the Dominican Republic through Monday. Life-threatening flooding and landslides were possible, with up to 35 inches (89 centimeters) of catastrophic rain across the Tiburon peninsula in southwestern Haiti, the center said.

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.

Melissa was located about 145 miles (230 kilometers) southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, and about 235 miles (380 kilometers) southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. It had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 kph) and was slowly moving west-northwest at 1 mph (2 kph), according to the hurricane center.