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Agence France-Presse

Tropical Storm Erika left at least 20 people dead when it swept over the tiny island nation of Dominica, officials reported on Friday, as the system barrelled through the Caribbean threatening Haiti.
While crews rushed to search for survivors and clean up scenes of chaos on Caribbean islands, Haitian authorities issued travel restrictions and opened emergency shelters ahead of the storm’s arrival.
The US state of Florida declared a state of emergency and Cuba issued an alert as well, as the storm, which is forecast to weaken on Saturday, rolled their way.
The storm hit as New Orleans marked 10 years since Hurricane Katrina battered the Louisiana city. 

In an evening press conference, Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said he had spent the day looking at damage and had seen “monumental destruction” that left at least 20 people dead.
“The visual damage I saw today, I fear, may have set our development process back by 20 years,” Skerrit said in an address after surveying the island country, which only has a population of about 72,000.
“Of greatest concern, however, is the loss of life. So far we have confirmed that at least 20 citizens have died, and some are missing,” he said.
Skerrit reported that massive damage had been inflicted on key infrastructure facilities and roads, and that “hundreds of homes around the country have been destroyed or rendered unsafe to occupy.”

Highways had sustained widespread damage and bridges had been washed away, he said.
“I have been assessing the damage all day. The extent of devastation is monumental. It is far worse that expected” he said.
Haitian authorities announced on Friday afternoon that emergency shelters had been opened across the country, even as Erika was forecast to weaken.
Hygiene kits, mattresses and food have been stocked at some 1,966 temporary shelters, which are able to accommodate more than 47,000 people.
In Haiti, many homes are rickety at best and more than 60,000 people are still living in emergency housing in the Port-au-Prince region – right in Erika’s path – following the country’s devastating 2010 earthquake that killed more than 250,000 people and crippled the nation’s infrastructure.
The government had already called for preventative evacuations in vulnerable areas ahead of the storm’s arrival
It also closed the country’s airspace until early on Saturday, banned highway travel between departments and prohibited small boats from sailing.

The Miami-based National Hurricane Centre predicted that Erika’s centre would move over western Haiti early on Saturday and be near the southeastern Bahamas or eastern Cuba on Saturday afternoon.
However, it added that “Erika is forecast to weaken to a tropical depression on Saturday.”
After that point “there is a good possibility that Erika could even degenerate into a trough of low pressure while it is moving over the high terrain of Hispaniola and eastern Cuba,” the centre said.
Haiti is located on the western half of the island of Hispaniola, which also includes the Dominican Republic.
In Puerto Rico, Erika left nearly 150,000 people without power, but appeared not to have caused major damage.
The storm’s approach also set off a scramble as far north as the US state of Florida, where the governor declared a state of emergency.
“Tropical Storm Erika poses a severe threat to the entire state of Florida and requires that timely precautions are taken to protect the communities, critical infrastructure and general welfare of this state,” Governor Rick Scott said.
In Washington, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said President Barack Obama had been briefed about preparations for Erika’s possible landfall in the United States.


Storm Erika kills at least 20 in Dominica, ‘setting country back 20 years’

Waves crash along the shores of the Malecon in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Photo: Xinhua

Tropical Storm Erika left a trail of destruction in Dominica on Friday. Photo: EPA

City workers cut a tree that fell when Tropical Storm Erica hit the area with heavy rains in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Photo: Reuters

Free sand bags are distributed on Friday in Hollywood, Florida ahead of the arrival of Tropical Storm Erika. Photo: AP

‘New Orleans West’: Why Houston’s Hurricane Katrina evacuees never went home

Chevelle Washington, right, sits in the hospital room of her sister, Chelette Price, in Houston. They were among New Orleans residents who fled to Texas in the wake of Hurricane Katrina but never returned. Photo: AP

Storm troupers: Obama lauds 'inspirational’ New Orleans, a decade after Katrina

US President Barack Obama breaks for lunch at Willie Mae’s Scotch House in New Orleans on Thursday. Photo: Reuters

IN PICTURES: Hurricane Katrina 10 years on

Resident Michael Rehage squats on the roof of his car on September 12, 2005, after Hurricane Katrina struck.

Tyler Teal cleans up his home on September 14, 2005, after the devastating hurricane. 

Joshua Creek looks up at the height the floodwaters reached at his house on September 13, 2005.

Errol Morning sits on his boat while behind him his entire street is flooded.

The print shows a woman arriving with her dog at a collection point for victims of the hurricane in September 2005. 

Coffins are removed from tombs after floods hit the area. More than 1,800 people were killed across the US Gulf Coast when Katrina made landfall on August 29, 2005.

Another view of Errol Morning on his boat on a flooded street.  Some 80 per cent of New Orleans was swallowed up by floods. 

Joshua Creek sitting on the porch of his house reflecting on the disaster after Hurricane Katrina struck. 

A general view of the Memorial Medical Centre on September 13, 2005 which played a key role in the disaster recovery. 

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Haiti braced for powerful storm while Florida declares state of emergency


Storm Erika kills at least 20 in Dominica, ‘setting country back 20 years’

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Haiti braced for powerful storm while Florida declares state of emergency

Haiti braced for powerful storm while Florida declares state of emergency