The slowness of the movement increases the danger due to the amount of rain that would fall.
SANTO DOMINGO. – According to the 5:00 am from the National Hurricane Center in Miami , Tropical Storm Melissa is moving at 6 kilometers per hour, "representing a threat to the lives of the inhabitants of the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Jamaica, and which will extend until the weekend."
"It is expected to bring heavy rains and life-threatening flooding to portions of Hispaniola and Jamaica through the weekend ," the agency's latest advisory says.
The report states that a hurricane watch remains in effect for the southwestern peninsula of Haiti from the border with the Dominican Republic to Port-au-Prince. A tropical storm watch is also in place for Jamaica.
In the country
Gloria Ceballos , director of the Dominican Institute of Meteorology (Indomet) , indicated that the passage of Tropical Storm Melissa represents a risk of large accumulations of rain, which could exceed 300 millimeters in some parts of the national territory, as it approaches the Haitian peninsula; however, its projected trajectory to the northwest is favorable, as it moves away from the country.
Authorities also announced increased rainfall for Thursday , which will continue until Friday , although less frequently, and warned of possible flooding due to saturated soils, mainly on the south/southwest coast .
During the follow-up meeting held last night at the National Palace, President Luis Abinader, along with Vice President Raquel Peña , ordered the continuation of the suspension of work and teaching in the nine provinces under red alert , as a preventive measure against Tropical Storm Melissa, a phenomenon he described as erratic .
After another working session with preventative agencies, mayors and ministries , the head of state reiterated the call for the population to be cautious and go to safe places, emphasizing the Government's priority of protecting human lives.
“What we hope is that it moves as far away as possible, but in the meantime we have to be cautious,” he said.
The director of the Emergency Operations Center (COE) , retired General Juan Manuel Méndez , indicated that 13 provinces are on yellow alert and 3 are on green alert.
According to Resolution 10-2025 of the Ministry of Labor , work remains suspended from 1:00 p.m. from Wednesday until Thursday, October 23, in the provinces under red alert: National District, Santo Domingo, San Cristóbal, Peravia, San José de Ocoa, Azua, San Juan, Barahona and Pedernales.
However, “businesses that satisfy basic or essential needs, such as supermarkets, clinics, grocery stores, gas stations, electricity transmission and distribution companies, telecommunications companies, continuously operating companies, security companies or private guards and pharmacies, may open their doors with the minimum staff that allows them to provide their services to the people who come to these establishments.”.
He stated that these measures will be reviewed this Thursday according to the translational movement of the phenomenon, whose speed continues at 4 kilometers per hour, which keeps the authorities in uncertainty.
Therefore, "the population must remain in their homes, for safety reasons.".
Last night Melissa was located about 485 kilometers south/southwest of Port-au-Prince and its cloud field will continue to cause rainfall in the Dominican Republic.
