UNITED NATIONS (CMC)—The Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) for Haiti is providing US$4 million to three United Nations organisations to support more than 100,000 vulnerable people before Tropical Storm Melissa, which is expected to become a hurricane on Friday, hits the French-speaking Caribbean Community (Caricom) country.

The CERF said that the funds will go to the World Food Programme (WFP), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

“Our humanitarian colleagues are working with UN partners and the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Authority to step up preparedness activities. The storm is expected to bring heavy rains and strong winds to Haiti – potentially leading to flooding, landslides and power outages,” Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, told the daily news briefing.

In its latest weather bulletin, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) said that Melissa remains disorganised and “jogging” slowly westward. It said heavy rainfall and flooding are expected over portions of Hispaniola and Jamaica over the remainder of this week.

The storm is situated 320 miles south-southwest of Port-au-Prince, in Haiti, and about 315 miles southeast of Kingston, the Jamaican capital. It has maximum sustained winds of 50 miles per hour (mph).

A hurricane watch is in effect for the southwestern peninsula of Haiti from the border with the Dominican Republic to Port-au-Prince, while a tropical storm watch remains in effect for Jamaica.

The NHC said that interests elsewhere in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Cuba should monitor the progress of Melissa, which is moving slowly toward the west near two mph. “A slow forward speed and a gradual turn to the northwest and north is forecast during the next couple of days, followed by a turn back westward by this weekend. On the forecast track, Melissa is expected to approach Jamaica and the southwestern portion of Haiti later this week,” the NHC said, adding that some gradual strengthening is anticipated during the next few days, and Melissa could become a hurricane by Friday.

Haq said that the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is closely monitoring the storm in the Caribbean and that the funds to the three UN organisations “were released as part of what we call anticipatory action efforts, which allow the humanitarian community in Haiti to get ahead of the direct consequences of storms and hurricanes.

“The response will focus on critical early warning messages and life-saving evacuation support, as well as cash transfers, emergency shelter management, and water, sanitation and hygiene kits,” Haq added.