Tropical Storm Erika was soaking the Dominican Republic late Friday after killing at least 12 people on the Caribbean island of Dominica.
Streets on the island were covered by downed trees, wrecked cars and mud. Most of Dominica was reportedly without electricity.
Authorities said the actual death toll could be higher.
Erika was forecast to pass Saturday over Cuba and possibly reach the U.S. state of Florida by Monday. Florida Governor Rick Scott has declared a state of emergency.
Residents across the state cleared store shelves of emergency supplies and bottled water.
Forecasters described Erika as a disorganized storm that could break up over the Dominican Republic or strengthen over warm waters on the way to Florida.
Streets on the island were covered by downed trees, wrecked cars and mud. Most of Dominica was reportedly without electricity.
Authorities said the actual death toll could be higher.
Erika was forecast to pass Saturday over Cuba and possibly reach the U.S. state of Florida by Monday. Florida Governor Rick Scott has declared a state of emergency.
Residents across the state cleared store shelves of emergency supplies and bottled water.
Forecasters described Erika as a disorganized storm that could break up over the Dominican Republic or strengthen over warm waters on the way to Florida.
voanews.com
28/8/15
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Related:
- Florida declares state of emergency over storm Erika...
Florida has declared a state of emergency as Tropical Storm Erika, which has already wreaked havoc across the Caribbean, moves towards the US state.
The storm is expected to hit southern Florida on Monday after battering the Dominican Republic and Haiti with "life-threatening floods" over the weekend, the US National Hurricane Centre said on Friday.
Governor Rick Scott made his declaration that Erika "poses a severe threat to the entire state" shortly after forecasters adjusted the trajectory of the storm to show that it is predicted to go through the middle of the state.
The order calls for the activation of the US National Guard and gives authorities the ability to waive tolls and rules to allow emergency crews and vehicles to move throughout the state.
A hurricane has not hit Florida in 10 years. The latest forecasts show that Erika will remain a tropical storm when it makes landfall.
Carribean havoc
On Friday, Erika lashed Puerto Rico with powerful winds and heavy rain a day after killing at least four people in the Caribbean island of Dominica.
Emergency officials were searching for several missing people after rain-triggered landslides on the small, mountainous island of on Thursday, Dominica's Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said in a radio broadcast.............http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/08/florida-declares-state-emergency-storm-erika-150828121455304.html
28/8/15
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Tropical Storm Erika began to lose steam Friday over Haiti and the Dominican Republic, but it left behind a trail of destruction that killed at least 20 people on the small eastern Caribbean island of Dominica, authorities said....
ReplyDeleteDominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said in a televised address late Friday that the island has been set back 20 years in the damage inflicted by the storm.
"This is a period of national tragedy," he said, adding that hundreds of homes, bridges and roads have been destroyed. "We have, in essence, to rebuild Dominica."
Tropical Storm Erika dumped 15 inches (38 centimeters) of rain on the mountainous island before it cut Friday into Haiti and the Dominican Republic, where it topped trees and power lines.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said the system was expected to move north across the island of Hispaniola, where the high mountains would weaken it to a tropical depression on Saturday and possibly cause it to dissipate entirely.
There's a chance it could regain some strength off northern Cuba and people in Florida should still keep an eye on it and brace for heavy rain, said John Cagialosi, a hurricane specialist at the center. "This is a potentially heavy rain event for a large part of the state," he said..........AP.........timesofindia.indiatimes.com
29/8/15