Page 3 - ARUBA TODAY 29August2015
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UP FRONT A3
Saturday 29 August 2015
Tropical Storm Erika Heads North; Loses Steam
Continued from front Cana, Samana and Puerto Strong winds and waves batter the coast as Tropical Storm Erika approaches Santo Domingo, in
Plata, as well as the capital the Dominican Republic, Friday, August 28, 2015. Tropical Storm Erika began to lose steam Friday
“This is a potentially heavy of Santo Domingo. over the Dominican Republic, but it left behind a trail of destruction that included several people
rain event for a large part The storm previously slid to killed on the small eastern Caribbean island of Dominica, authorities said.
of the state,” he said. the south of Puerto Rico,
Florida Gov. Rick Scott knocking out power to (AP Photo/Tatiana Fernandez)
declared a state of emer- more than 200,000 people
gency for the entire state, and causing more than $5 Peter Julian, who had that my house that I have was not ready for me ... I
which could begin seeing million in damage to agri- joined friends after leaving lived in for over 20 years have lost everything and
the effects of the system culture but causing no ma- work. was gone,” he said. “I am now have to start all over
late Sunday and early Mon- jor damage or injuries. “When I returned, I saw blessed to be alive. God again.”q
day and officials urged res- Dominica, meanwhile, was
idents to prepare by filling struggling in the aftermath.
vehicle gas tanks, stockpil- Assistant Police Superin-
ing food and water, and tendent Claude Weekes
determining whether they said authorities still haven’t
live in an evacuation zone. been able to access many
Erika’s heavy rains set off areas in the mountainous
floods and mudslides in island because of impass-
Dominica that are now able roads and bridges.
blamed for at least a doz- “The aftermath is loads of
en deaths, the government damage,” he said. “It real-
said. At least two dozen ly has been devastating.”
people remained missing Dominica Prime Minister
and authorities warned the Roosevelt Skerrit urged
death toll could rise. people throughout the
“There are additional bod- country to help clear
ies recovered but it is an streets strewn with mud
ongoing operation,” Police and toppled trees. Skerrit
Chief Daniel Carbon said, said they were airlifting in-
declining to provide specif- jured people to the hospi-
ics. “It will take us a couple tal in Roseau.
of days to recover as many An elderly blind man and
bodies as we can. So the two children were killed
count will increase.” when a mudslide engulfed
Erika is a particularly wet their home in the southeast
storm, and was expected of Dominica. Another man
to dump up to 8 inches (20 was found dead in the
centimeters) of rain across capital following a mud-
the drought-stricken re- slide at his home.
gion. Given how weak the People on the island told
storm is and how dry Puer- of narrowly escaping be-
to Rico and parts of Florida ing engulfed by water as
have been, “it could be a Erika downed trees and
net benefit, this thing,” said power lines while unleash-
MIT meteorology professor ing heavy floods that
Kerry Emanuel. swept cars down streets
The center of Erika was lo- and ripped scaffolding off
cated about 95 miles (155 some buildings.
kilometers) west-southwest “I was preparing to go to
of Santo Domingo, Do- work when all of a sudden
minican Republic, and I heard this loud noise and
was moving west at about saw the place flooded with
21 mph (33 kph), the Hur- water,” said Shanie James,
ricane Center said. The a 30-year-old mother who
storm’s maximum sus- works at a bakery. “We
tained winds were near 50 had to run for survival.”
mph (85 kph). Mudslides destroyed doz-
Erika drenched the popu- ens of homes across Domi-
lar tourist areas of Punta nica, including that of
46-year-old security guard
