Tropical storm Melissa neared hurricane strength Saturday and was expected to rapidly intensify this weekend, as forecasters warned of massive rainfall and life-threatening flooding and landslides in the northern Caribbean.

An astounding 89 centimetres of rain was anticipated in southwest Haiti.

The erratic and slow-moving storm has killed at least three people in Haiti and a fourth person in the Dominican Republic, where another person remains missing.

Up to 64 centimetres of rain was forecast for Jamaica and the southern regions of Haiti and the Dominican Republic through Monday, with up to 89 centimeters of rain possible across Haiti's Tiburon Peninsula, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.

"If those rains were to occur, you're talking about catastrophic flooding potenti

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