By Milena Malaver and Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald

Hurricane Melissa formed Saturday afternoon as parts of the Caribbean including Jamaica brace for catastrophic rain, flooding and landslides.

The storm, which is 145 miles from Kingston and 235 miles from Port-au-Prince as of Saturday afternoon, is moving slowly toward the west-northwest at about 1 mph and by 1:30 p.m. Saturday reached sustained winds of around 75 mph, making it a Category 1.

The storm already has claimed at least three lives and destroyed a bridge in Haiti, and is expected to strengthen into a major hurricane by the end of the weekend, according to forecasters.

Hurricane–force winds are expected to reach Jamaica by Sunday or Monday with tropical-storm conditions expected by tonight, according to the National Hurri

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