At Least 25 Dead In Dominica From Tropical Storm Erika Flooding, Landslides In Caribbean Island

Tropical Storm Erika killed at least 25 people due to flooding and landslides in the Caribbean island of Dominica, a government official Friday told a TV news station in Trinidad and Tobago. Meanwhile, Puerto Rico is bracing for the storm, which already knocked out power to thousands and forced the closure of schools in the U.S. territory.

Erika, which has been hitting the island of Dominica hard since Wednesday, has brought extreme rain, causing floods that have wiped out roads and villages. The island-nation of Dominica is just north of Martinique and east-southeast of the Dominican Republic.

At least 14 bodies have been recovered, the news station reported. On Thursday, the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Agency said that about 25 to 30 people were missing in Dominica, and the Associated Press reported the death of four people.

Meanwhile, a TV station in Trinidad and Tobago reported 25 fatalities.

Erika dumped 9 inches of rain on Dominica on Wednesday and 6 inches early Thursday, even though the storm was only expected to produce about 4 inches to 8 inches, with a maximum of 12 inches, across various Caribbean island nations including Dominica, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

“The situation is grim. It is dangerous," Ian Pinard, Dominica's communications minister, told the AP.

Roads and bridges have become impassable on the island, so emergency and rescue crews have had to use boats to get to people in isolated areas. The only way onto the island currently is by helicopter, Caribbean Emergency Management Agency Executive Ronald Jackson told the AP.

Puerto Rico is now bracing for the impact of the storm, which hit the island with heavy rain and wind Friday morning. The island's Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla has activated the National Guard as a precautionary measure. As of Thursday, about 18,000 people did not have power, and government offices and schools were ordered closed Friday.

Erika is expected to move over the Dominican Republic sometime Friday, and the storm may hit Florida by Monday, which would be the state’s first hurricane since 2005 when Hurricane Wilma hit the state.