Jamaica, Dominican Republic and Haiti brace for ‘catastrophic flooding’ as storm set to strengthen into hurricane.
Tropical Storm Melissa is expected to soon intensify into a hurricane, the United States-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) has said, as the slow-moving yet punishing storm threatens catastrophic flooding across the northern Caribbean.
In an update at 5am local time (09:00 GMT) on Saturday, the NHC said the storm is forecast to become a hurricane later in the day before transforming into a “major hurricane by Sunday”.
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Up to 64 centimetres (25 inches) of rain was forecast for Jamaica and the southern regions of Haiti and the Dominican Republic through Monday, with up to 89 centimetres (35 inches) of rain possible across Haiti’s Tiburon Peninsula, according to the NHC.
“If those rains were to occur, you’re talking about catastrophic flooding potential,” said Jamie Rhome, the centre’s deputy director.
The storm’s crawling pace – moving at just five kilometres (3.1 miles) per hour on Friday – means Jamaica could endure hurricane conditions for more than 72 hours.
It was over the central Caribbean Sea before dawn on Saturday, with maximum sustained winds of near 110km/h (70 mph).
A man rides a motorcycle on a flooded street in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, October 24, 2025 [Eddy Vittini/Reuters]
Three people have died in Haiti, including two killed in a landslide in the capital Port-au-Prince and another struck by a falling tree in Marigot, officials said. A fourth person was killed in the Dominican Republic, where another remains missing.
Jamaica’s Meteorological Service principal director Evan Thompson told The Gleaner that residents should brace for a “double effect” as the hurricane’s eye passes over the island, with the strongest winds hitting from opposite directions on either side of the centre.
The forecast marks a significant shift from earlier in the week, when landfall was considered only a “slim chance”.
Authorities have readied more than 650 emergency shelters across Jamaica and said airports will close once a hurricane warning is declared. Prime Minister Andrew Holness warned the public to treat the approaching storm as a serious threat. “Take all measures to protect yourself,” he said.
The storm has already wrought havoc in the Dominican Republic, where nearly 200 homes have been damaged and more than half a million people left without water.
In the Los Rios neighbourhood of the capital, Santo Domingo, families were forced to flee rising floodwaters on Thursday evening after surrounding streams burst their banks, according to the Listin Diario daily newspaper.
More than two dozen Dominican communities remain cut off by floodwaters, prompting mandatory evacuations and nationwide school closures.
The situation is particularly dire for thousands displaced by gang violence in Port-au-Prince, now living in makeshift shelters with scant protection.
“I’m dealing with two storms: the gangs and the weather,” Nephtali Johnson Pierre told The Associated Press news agency.
Melissa is also forecast to strike eastern Cuba as a major hurricane on Wednesday.