Melissa is expected to strengthen from a tropical storm into a major hurricane and bring "catastrophic" flash flooding and landslides to Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic

Hurricane Melissa is forecast to become a major hurricane on Sunday with catastrophic flash flooding and landslides in Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica.

Haiti is expected to see catastrophic flash floods and landslides early next week causing “extensive infrastructural damage and potentially prolonged isolation of communities.” The southwestern peninsula of Haiti, from the border of the Dominican Republic to Port-au-Prince, was placed under a hurricane watch and a tropical-storm warning.

Melissa is projected to approach Jamaica this weekend, make landfall by early next week, and be near or over eastern Cuba by the middle of next week.

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

Tropical Storm Melissa is forecast to rapidly intensify into a major hurricane this weekend as it lashes Jamaica and parts of the northern Caribbean, bringing days of life-threatening, potentially catastrophic impacts.