Tropical Storm Erika
Update: 4 killed in Dominica as Tropical Storm Erika hits islandhttp://www.tv6tnt.com/news/Update-4-killed-in-Dominica-as-Tropical-Storm-Erika-hits-island-323118171.html A POLICE official in Dominica says at least four people have died in severe flooding and mudslides caused by Tropical Storm Erika on the eastern Caribbean island.
Superintendent Daniel Carbon tells The Associated Press that three of the deaths occurred during a mudslide in the southeast of the island. Authorities recovered the bodies of an elderly blind man and two children from the home.
A fourth death occurred in the capital of Roseau. Carbon says the man was found near his home following a mudslide but the cause of death has not yet been determined.
He says that there have been mudslides and rivers overrunning their banks throughout the island known for its lush forests and steep terrain.
The storm unleashed across the island on Thursday, triggering landslides that destroyed at least 20 homes. Authorities were searching for six people reported missing.
"The situation is grim. It is dangerous," said Ian Pinard, Dominica's communications minister.
About 80 percent of the island was without electricity, and water supply was cut off, authorities said. The main airport was closed due to flooding, with water rushing over cars and at least one small plane, and the scaffolding of some buildings collapsed.
Sabra Luke, who lives in St. Joseph, the chief settlement of Dominica's St. Joseph Parish, told CBSN several roads were flooded and destroyed. She said cellular service on the island had been cut off and many were unable to reach their families. Luke said she thinks many people weren't prepared for the storm and didn't expect it would be this strong.
The main river that cuts through the island's capital overflowed its banks and surging water crashed into the principal bridge that leads into Roseau, whose roads were littered with fallen trees and light poles. Some streets were turned into fast-flowing rivers.
Acting Prime Minister Rayburn Blackmoore asked people to remain calm and stay indoors.
"Do not go sightseeing," he said. "The situation is very dangerous."
Erika was centered about 125 miles west of Guadeloupe, and was moving west at 16 mph with maximum sustained of 50 mph, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.
Erika was expected to move near Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands on Thursday and be near or just north of the Dominican Republic on Friday as it heads toward South Florida early next week. The storm was not expected to gain strength in the next two days.
Officials shuttered schools, government offices and businesses across the region and warned of flash flooding because of dry conditions caused by the worst drought to hit the Caribbean in recent years. Authorities warned power and water service might be temporarily cut off.
Puerto Rico Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla said the storm could bring badly needed rains to the parched U.S. territory.
"We're happy given the dry conditions, but it does highlight the need to be on alert," he said, adding that heavy downpours could lead to flash floods.
Garcia activated the National Guard as a precaution and asked that everyone head home by noon on Thursday.
The heaviest rains were expected to hit Puerto Rico's eastern region, with the storm expected to pass about 30 miles north of the island overnight Thursday, said Odalys Martinez, with the National Weather Service in San Juan.
The storm also was generating heavy wind in nearby Antigua, and people should prepare for more rain, said Philmore Mullin, director of Antigua and Barbuda's National Office of Disaster Services. He said in a phone interview that no damage or power outages had been reported.
Dozens of flights were canceled in the region, and the U.S. Coast Guard closed all ports in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Government officials in the U.S. Virgin Islands said St. John would experience the heaviest winds at around 58 mph.
Meanwhile in the Pacific, Ignacio strengthened into a hurricane. The storm's maximum sustained winds increased Thursday morning to 90 mph.
Hurricane Ignacio was centered about 1,135 miles east-southeast of Hilo, Hawaii, and was moving west-northwest near 13 mph.
Also in the Pacific, a new tropical storm formed Thursday morning. Tropical Storm Jimena had maximum sustained winds near 45 mph and was expected to strengthen to a hurricane Friday. Jimena was centered about 890 miles south-southwest of the southern tip of Mexico's Baja California peninsula.
