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Dominica badly hit by Tropical Storm Erika Tropical Storm Erika kills at least 20 in Dominica
(about 7 hours later)
Helicopter rescue teams in Dominica are flying to the aid of hillside villagers still trapped in their homes after the Caribbean island was hit by Tropical Storm Erika. A tropical storm heading across the Caribbean has killed at least 20 people on the island of Dominica, with dozens more missing.
Flash floods and landslides have killed at least 12 people, said Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit. Tropical Storm Erika hit Dominica, in the eastern Caribbean, causing floods and mudslides that have set the country back 20 years, its prime minister said.
Road bridges were swept out to sea, and flood debris, including a wrecked aircraft, blocked the main airport. Haiti and the Dominican Republic are now expecting 53mph (85km/h) winds.
A state of emergency has been declared in the US state of Florida, where the storm is expected on Sunday.
Dominica's Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said in a televised address late on Friday that hundreds of homes, bridges and roads had been destroyed.
He said: "It is with heavy heart that I address you, you can well imagine the hell that it has been for me since I heard of the passing of Tropical Storm Erika and the damage it has done to our dear people and beloved country. But we all have to pull ourselves together.
"The extent of the devastation is monumental. We have, in essence, to rebuild Dominica."
Erika dumped 38cm (15in) of rain.
At least 31 people on the island of 72,000 people have been reported missing, according to officials with the Barbados-based Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency.
Among the houses lost in the mudslides was that of 46-year-old security guard Peter Julian, who had joined friends after leaving work.
"When I returned, I saw that my house that I have lived in for over 20 years was gone,'' he told Associated Press.
"I have lost everything and now have to start all over again," he said.
Other Caribbean nations have issued tropical storm warnings.Other Caribbean nations have issued tropical storm warnings.
The storm hit Dominica on Thursday, dumping a huge amount of rain on the small, mountainous island in just a few hours. In Puerto Rico, Erika knocked out power to more than 200,000 people and caused more than $16m (£10m) of damage to crops including plantain, bananas and coffee, AP reported.
"Erika has really, really visited us with a vengeance,'' Assistant Police Superintendent Claude Weekes told the AP news agency. The US National Hurricane Centre said the system was expected to move north across the island of Hispaniola - shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic - where the high mountains would weaken it to a tropical depression on Saturday.
"There are many fallen rocks and trees, and water. It's really chaotic." Meanwhile, Florida Governor Rick Scott declared a state of emergency as a precaution with officials urging people to prepare by stockpiling food and water and fuelling their vehicles.
More than 20 people are missing on the island which has a population of 72,000 people. Separately, in the Pacific Ocean, Hurricane Ignacio strengthened into a hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 90mph, centred south-east of Hilo in Hawaii, and moving north-west.
Mr Skerrit made an appeal on Twitter for residents "to come out to help clean the streets, clear ravines and public buildings today".
The storm is now moving northwest towards Haiti and the Dominican Republic, which share the island of Hispaniola.
It could also hit Puerto Rico and Cuba in the next few days.
The governor of the US state of Florida, Rick Scott, has declared a state of emergency, saying the storm poses a severe threat.
But the storm could dissipate before reaching Florida, said Chris Landsea, from the US National Hurricane Center in Miami.