Four dead, 20 missing after Tropical Storm Erika hits Dominica
ROSEAU, Dominica – Rescue crews fanned out across Dominica late Thursday to search for missing and injured people after Tropical Storm Erika pummeled the eastern Caribbean island, unleashing landslides and killing at least four people.
The storm, which forecasters said could reach Florida as a hurricane on Monday, dumped 15 inches of rain on the small island as it spun west toward Puerto Rico.
An elderly blind man and two children were killed when a mudslide crashed into their home in the southeast of the island, said police Chief Daniel Carbon. Another man was found dead near his home in the capital of Roseau after a mudslide.
Police said another 20 people have been reported missing.
“Erika has really, really visited us with a vengeance,” Assistant Police Superintendent Claude Weekes said in a phone interview. “There are many fallen rocks and trees, and water. It’s really chaotic.”
Erika was expected to move near Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands on Thursday night and be near or just north of the Dominican Republic today as it heads toward Florida early next week.
Chris Landsea, a meteorologist at the hurricane center, said the storm could dissipate if it passed over Hispaniola or Puerto Rico or it could strengthen and pose a potential threat to Florida next week. “The uncertainties are very high,” he said.
As the storm entered the Caribbean, it did the heaviest damage to Dominica, an island of about 72,000 people of lush forests and steep terrain. Authorities were still conducting a full damage assessment after rivers surged over their banks and walls of mud surged into homes.
About 80 percent of the island was without electricity, and water supply was cut off, authorities said. Trees and light poles were strewn across streets as water rushed over parked cars and ripped the scaffolding off some buildings. The main airport was closed due to flooding.
The main river that cuts through the capital overflowed its banks and surging water crashed into the principal bridge that leads into Roseau.
“The capital city is a wreck,” policewoman Teesha Alfred said. “It is a sight to behold. It’s a disaster.”