At least two people were killed in the Dominican Republic and eight in Haiti as heavy rains and winds from Tropical Storm Isaac battered the island of Hispaniola, officials said on Sunday.
The bodies of two men reported missing on Saturday in the Dominican Republic were found, media reports said, adding that the victims were swept away by swollen rivers. Nearly 13,000 others were forced to evacuate their homes.
The storm damaged 864 dwellings in the Dominican Republic and left 90 towns cut off, emergency management officials said.
Isaac also battered neighbouring Haiti, where at least six people were killed. As many as 5,000 people were evacuated because of flooding.
Chocolate-brown water spilled through the sprawling shantytown of Cite Soleil in Port-au-Prince, collapsing scores of tents and flooding homes with three feet of water.
Doctors Without Borders said it anticipated a spike in cholera cases due to flooding, and it was preparing to receive more patients.
No deaths or injuries were reported in Cuba, where moderate coastal floods were reported in Baracoa, Guantanamo, and the lower coastal areas of the municipalities of Gibara and Banes, Holguin.
Electric service was interrupted in Baracoa, from where 1,093 persons were evacuated due to Isaac’s heavy rains and wind of up to 53 per hour, which caused the total or partial collapse of 17 houses, according to preliminary figures.
Rain continued on Saturday night in the eastern provinces, which were heavy and intense in some areas, mainly in the mountainous regions. Rain was expected to expand to the island’s central region on Sunday.
Meanwhile, showers and thunderstorms remain disorganized in association with a broad area of low pressure located about 750 miles west of the Cape Verde islands. This system has the potential to become a tropical depression over the next day or two as it moves west-northwestward to northwestward at 10 to 15 mph. This system has a medium chance — 50 percent — of becoming a tropical cyclone during the next 48 hours.
Source: Caribbean News Now
