By KEILE CAMPBELL 

Tribune Staff Reporter 

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

TROPICAL Storm Melissa intensified in the Caribbean yesterday, prompting a hurricane watch for parts of Haiti and a tropical storm watch for Jamaica, where most Bahamians on the island are students.

Forecasters expect Melissa to strengthen into a hurricane by Saturday as it tracks northward through the region, bringing heavy rain, strong winds, and rough seas.

While The Bahamas is not currently under threat, a northward shift could bring rain, squalls, and coastal swells to the southern islands next week.

According to CNN, the storm was 300 miles south of Haiti yesterday, with maximum sustained winds of 50 miles per hour. Meteorologists warned of up to a foot of rain in some areas, risking flash flooding and mudslides across Hispaniola.

Bahamian Consul General in Jamaica Alveta Knight told The Tribune her office is monitoring developments closely and ensuring that Bahamians, especially students, are prepared.

She said there are about 160 Bahamian students at various universities across Jamaica and between 20 and 70 permanent residents, though those figures fluctuate.

“The first instinctive response is to advise the students at their location to follow the rules and regulations of their campus. The campus has evacuation and they have natural disaster plans in place. When that now is unable to meet the needs of the students, then the government’s response comes in, and that’s where I execute,” she said.

Ms Knight said that in past hurricanes, the Bahamian government has evacuated students when necessary. “The students are asked to come to the airport, we document who they are, and they’re sent on a plane back to the Bahamas, and then they go to their respective islands.”

She stressed that help is available to any Bahamian who can prove citizenship, even if they have not registered with the Consulate.

She added that many Bahamians only contact the Consulate during crises. “That number increases if something happens, emergency passports are required, emergency travel documents, sorry, or if there is a death in the family, or if there’s an immediate need,” she said. “So for example, I imagine with this hurricane that’s about to allegedly hit Jamaica, that may hit Jamaica, I may see more numbers coming out then.”

A forecast from WESH 2 First Warning Weather shows most computer models steering Melissa north over Hispaniola, though one outlier predicts a curve toward The Bahamas.