Heavy winds from the storm toppled trees and power lines in the Dominican Republic.
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At 2 p.m. EDT (1800 UTC) on August 28, 2015, the center of Tropical Storm Erika was located near latitude 17.7 North, longitude 70.2 West. Punta Cana at the eastern end of the Dominican Republic reported wind gusts of 40 miles per hour (64 kph).
Chris Landsea, a meteorologist with the Hurricane Center, said Erika is an extremely disorganized storm, making it hard for forecasters to track.
Erika is expected to drop 4-8 inches of rain on the Leeward Islands, Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico Thursday night into Friday morning.
The governor of the US state of Florida, Rick Scott, has declared a state of emergency, saying the storm poses a severe threat.
The hurricane center said the rain could cause “life-threatening flash floods and mudslides”.
A spokesperson for the Caribbean Disaster and Emergency Management Agency, based in Barbados, said the search is on for between 25 and 30 missing persons on Dominica. Police had recovered more bodies Friday, but declined to release details. “It took most of yesterday, and now we’re ready”. “So the count will increase”. Tropical storm conditions were also expected to spread across Haiti Friday. It is forecast to hit Florida on Monday, but it’s not clear how strong the storm will be. Its maximum sustained winds were 50 miles per hour.
Some areas may get 10 inches from Erika.
Dominica, meanwhile, was struggling in the aftermath. “It really has been devastating”.
More than 20 people are still missing, Charles Roland Jong from Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit’s office said Friday.
Several injured people have been airlifted to hospital in the capital Roseau. The island is home to the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
Latest models still lack consistency in terms of Erika’s forecasted path. As it looks this evening, Erika will likely pass over the island of Hispaniola and head towards Cuba and the Bahamas.
“I have been assessing the damage all day”. “We had to run for survival”. “Floods swamped villages, destroyed homes and wiped out roads”. “I am blessed to be alive. I have lost everything and now have to start all over again”.
In the Pacific, Hawaii is forecast to have hurricanes to its east and west through next week.
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Barry Horavath said they’ve been getting a ton of calls this week from people either looking for new shutters or help with their current ones in advance of Tropical Storm Erika.
