Last Updated on August 25, 2020, 5:45 AM AST by Anthony Morris
Tropical Storm Laura has killed at least 11 people as it battered Haiti, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic over the weekend with flooding and high winds.
On Monday, the storm was moving along Cuba’s southern coast, and the storm was expected to turn into a hurricane.
At least nine people have died in Haiti, and two people went missing, the Associated Press reported. The AP has also said that two people have been killed in the Dominican Republic.
Civil protection authority of Haiti said on social media that the persons who died in Haiti included two men, two women and a 10-year-old girl.
The girl died when a tree fell on a home in Anse-à-Pitres, which is located on the southern coast of Haiti on the border with the Dominican Republic.
The agency said that evacuations were ongoing on Sunday morning.
A video posted by Haiti’s civil protection authority showed a torrent of muddy water which was rushing under a building.
The storm knocked out power for over 1 million people without power in the Dominican Republic, and officials used megaphones to request the residents to evacuate.
Tens of thousands stayed without power on Monday morning, but the three utilities of the country had restored service to over 400,000 people.
The dead persons include a 7-year-old boy and his 44-year-old mother who died in Santo Domingo when their home collapsed.
Several homes have collapsed in Santo Domingo due to flooding. Over 1,000 people were evacuated across the country.
The flooding has also cut off over 120 isolated communities, El Caribe reported.
Earlier, the storm brought heavy rainfall and strong winds to Puerto Rico and left about 200,000 homes and businesses without power Saturday night.
More than 10,000 had lost water, the AP reported.
The storm caused 3 to 6 inches of rain and brought wind gusts up to 67 mph in southern and eastern Puerto Rico.
River flooding trapped two people along the rapidly rising Toro Negro River in Ciales, Puerto Rico. The pair were reportedly rescued Saturday evening, El Neuvo Dia reported.
Anthony Morris covers stories related to politics and regional developments. His in-depth reporting about governance and reforms makes him stand out in regional journalism, with a deep analysis of political trends and their impact on Caribbean communities.
