Melissa represents “a potential danger for the eastern provinces,” indicated the National Civil Defense General Staff.
MIAMI, United States. – The National Civil Defense Staff established this Friday the Information Phase starting at 2:00 in the afternoon for the provinces of Guantánamo, Santiago de Cuba, Granma, Holguín, Las Tunas and Camagüey, given the evolution of tropical storm Melissa.
The Informative Note No. 1 of the Civil Defense regarding this meteorological phenomenon specifies that Melissa “has shown little change over the waters of the Caribbean Sea, remaining almost stationary” and that “its circulation, although distant, is interacting with the trough, causing an increase in humidity and instability over our territory.”
The entity added that “during the weekend this cyclonic organism will continue with a slow movement approaching Jamaica and the seas south of Cuba” and that “a gradual strengthening is expected, followed by a rapid intensification, representing a potential danger for the eastern provinces.”
The National General Staff of the Civil Defense advised citizens to “stay informed through the national media and the official profiles of social networks and to comply disciplinedly with the instructions given by the local authorities and the Civil Defense.”
On the other hand, at 11:00 in the morning the United States National Hurricane Center (NHC) placed Melissa near 15.7°N and 74.6°W, approximately 345 kilometers (km) southeast of Kingston (Jamaica) and 405 km southwest of Port-au-Prince (Haiti), with maximum sustained winds of 75 km/h moving east-southeast at a rate of 4 km/h.
The technical report warns: “Gradual strengthening is forecast for today, followed by rapid intensification this weekend. Melissa is forecast to become a hurricane on Saturday and a major hurricane on Sunday.”
The NHC maintains a “Hurricane Watch” and “Tropical Storm Warning” for Jamaica and the southwestern peninsula of Haiti (from the border with the Dominican Republic to Port-au-Prince).
Regarding the dangers on land, the US agency warned that “flash floods and numerous significant landslides are expected, which threaten life in southern Haiti.” He also warned that “surges generated by Melissa are expected to affect portions of Hispaniola, Jamaica and eastern Cuba over the next few days.”
The Cuban Civil Defense indicated that, together with the Institutes of Meteorology and Hydraulic Resources, it maintains surveillance over this cyclonic organism, while the Information Phase governs in the six eastern provinces.
