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UPDATE: At least 20 dead in Dominica due to Tropical Storm Erika

August 29th, 2015 | Tags: Dominica tropical storm Erika flooding looting
Residents stand by the remains of houses affected by a mudslide caused by Tropical Storm Erika in Carries, Haiti, August 29, 2015. Erika, a tropical storm that killed 20 people on the Caribbean island of Dominica and at least one person in Haiti, fell apart on Saturday over eastern Cuba, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. REUTERS/Andres Martinez Casares
A girl sits by the remains of a house affected by a mudslide caused by Tropical Storm Erika in Carries, Haiti, August 29, 2015. Erika, a tropical storm that killed 20 people on the Caribbean island of Dominica and at least one person in Haiti, fell apart on Saturday over eastern Cuba, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. REUTERS/Andres Martinez Casares
A girl sits by the remains of a house affected by a mudslide caused by Tropical Storm Erika in Carries, Haiti, August 29, 2015. Erika, a tropical storm that killed 20 people on the Caribbean island of Dominica and at least one person in Haiti, fell apart on Saturday over eastern Cuba, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. REUTERS/Andres Martinez Casares
A damaged road caused by Tropical Storm Erika in Dominica. Photo: Facebook
A damaged road caused by Tropical Storm Erika in Dominica. Photo: Facebook
Rose Dormice inspects her bedroom where the roof collapsed during high winds and heavy rains caused by Tropical Storm Erika, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2015. Tropical Storm Erika dissipated early Saturday, but it left devastation in its path on the small eastern Caribbean island of Dominica, authorities said. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)
Rose Dormice inspects her bedroom where the roof collapsed during high winds and heavy rains caused by Tropical Storm Erika, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2015. Tropical Storm Erika dissipated early Saturday, but it left devastation in its path on the small eastern Caribbean island of Dominica, authorities said. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)
An image from Dominica showing the effects of Tropical Storm Erika. Photo: Facebook
An image from Dominica showing the effects of Tropical Storm Erika. Photo: Facebook
By CARLISLE JNO BAPTISTE and DANICA COTO

ROSEAU, Dominica (AP) — Rescue crews jumped off boats and trudged Saturday through mud, rocks and uprooted trees to reach communities cut off by a tropical storm that killed at least 20 people and left nearly 50 missing in the eastern Caribbean island of Dominica.

Volunteers helped carry food, water and clothes for dozens of Dominicans who have been isolated for up to three days after Tropical Storm Erika dumped some 15 inches (38 centimeters) of rain this week on the mountainous island.

Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit pleaded for international aid, saying the damage pushed Dominica back by two decades. He met Saturday with members of a newly created committee charged with helping rebuild an island that officials said was devastated by floods and landslides.

"It's a very daunting task," said opposition leader Lennox Linton, who met with Skerrit. "The country has been significantly set back."

Heavy floods destroyed hundreds of homes and roads across Dominica, unleashing deadly landslides and turning streets into churning rivers. At least 20 people were still missing in the southeast village of Petite Savanne, considered one of the hardest hit areas and home to some of Dominica's steepest mountains.

"They are not expected to be found," Linton said of those missing, warning that the number of dead and missing would likely rise. Dozens of injured were still being airlifted to the hospital in the capital of Roseau.

As Dominicans struggled with the loss of family and property, they heeded Skerrit's advice to help each other.

Young men around Roseau fanned out to assist neighbors and clear roads, said Thomas Holmes, a guidance counselor who has been meeting with victims, adding that they are numbed by the disaster.

"We did not expect the storm to affect Dominica the way it did," he said. "We assumed we'd be getting some rain, but not for that duration. It hit Dominica for over 11 hours."

Officials said the flooding was so destructive in part because the small island has 365 rivers as well as several lakes and waterfalls. The main airport, which was recently renovated, remained closed and partially underwater, and dozens of bridges have been washed out.

Some Dominicans opted to take ferries to the nearby islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe to catch flights elsewhere to stay with friends and family. Those who stayed behind shoveled mud from their homes as television sets, bookcases and mattresses piled up outside.

"The destruction is unbelievable," said Terry Dyer, who lives on Dominica's west coast and is cut off from the capital. "It is sudden and widespread. I have never seen that before."

Go-fast boats zipped around Dominica, carrying rescuers and those seeking to reach relatives trapped in isolated communities.

"It's dicey and dangerous, but we're going what we can," said Assistant Police Superintendent Claude Weekes.

As Dominicans continued to dig out of the disaster on Saturday, Tropical Storm Erika dissipated after drenching Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

At least one person died in Haiti in a suspected mudslide, and four others were killed and another 11 were hospitalized in Leogane, just west of the Haitian capital, when a truck carrying a liquor known locally as clairin crashed into a bus and exploded. Authorities said it apparently was raining when the accident occurred.

Haitian authorities also evacuated 254 prisoners in Gonaives to other locations because of flooding, and two people were hospitalized after their home in Port-au-Prince collapsed in heavy rains.

Before disintegrating, Erika also knocked out power to more than 200,000 people in Puerto Rico and caused more than $16 million in damage to crops there, including plantains, bananas and coffee.

Erika was a particularly wet storm, and moved across a region that has been struggling with the worst drought in recent years.

The remnants of Erika were expected to move near the coast of eastern and central Cuba on Saturday and into the southeastern Gulf of Mexico on Sunday. The Hurricane Center said that starting on Sunday, rainfall of 3 to 5 inches (7.6 to 12.7 centimeters), with locally heavier amounts, is possible across southern and central Florida. Gusty winds could occur over southern Florida beginning Sunday.

A state of emergency remained in place for all of Florida, and officials urged residents to fill gas tanks and stockpile food and water.

Meanwhile in the Pacific, Jimena turned into a powerful Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds near 150 mph (240 kph). The Hurricane Center said it was expected to remain a major hurricane through Monday, though it did not pose an immediate threat to land.

___

Coto reported from San Juan, Puerto Rico. AP writers Anne-Marie Garcia in Havana, Evens Sanon in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and Tamara Lush in St. Petersburg, Florida contributed to this report.

See previous story published August 27, 2015

At least two reported swept away by rising river in Dominica

 

ANTIGUA OBSERVER

There’s word out of Dominica that rivers have swelled overflowing their banks due to downpour associated with Tropical Storm Erika.

One report received by Dominica Broadcasting Service (DBS) indicated that a river undermined several houses in Bath Estate and that about 4 people may have been swept away.

The report came as DBS Radio continued live coverage of the storm’s passage. The initial report, which DBS couldn’t confirm, came in via text message. 

Wihtin minutes of that revelation, an official from Bath provided confirmation that 2 people were swept away:

In Dominica as well, there’s a report of looting as water inundated a Petro Caribe plant and pushed Liquid Petroleum Gas down a river and into the sea.

Also in Dominica, people have been posting images of the Damage caused by Erika, more by water than wind.

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