Heavy flooding caused by Tropical Storm Olga killed at least 10 people and forced thousands to flee their homes in the Caribbean, local authorities said Wednesday.
The heavy rains remained a deadly threat as the remnants of Olga moved west across the region, however, the storm began to weaken Wednesday after it exited Hispaniola, an island shared by Haiti and Dominica.
The northern province of Santiago in the Dominican Republic was the worst hit area, with rains forcing the authorities to release water from a near-capacity dam. At least seven towns were completely flooded.
Gov. Jose Izquierdo said the province was in an emergency situation. "It's a catastrophe," he said.
Local authorities confirmed eight deaths, but local media reports put the death toll at 15 and scores of people were missing.
Families were evacuated from the flooded area, with helicopter crews plucking victims from rooftops and police moving hundreds of prisoners from a flooded jail to an army fortress.
By late afternoon, Olga had become a broad mass of thunderstorms centered 100 km north of Kingston, Jamaica.
Two deaths were also reported in northern Haiti and Puerto Rico.
In Haiti, officials said the deaths could rise as poor infrastructure could delay reporting on the storm's aftermath for days.
The storm passed Puerto Rico Tuesday night, knocking out electricity supplies to 79,000 people and water to 144,000.
Source: Xinhua/agencies
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