San Juan, Aug 28 (EFE).– At least 14 people died and 25 went missing on the eastern Caribbean island of Dominica when it was hit by Tropical Storm Erika.
Dominica’s Public Works and Communications Minister Ia Pinnar said in a statement on local radio that, according to the latest information available, 14 bodies have been recovered and at least another 25 people are missing.

Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit noted that Erika has caused damage of “epic proportions,” while insisting that the search for missing persons remains the No. 1 priority for the moment.

Skerrit said in a televised statement that the number of confirmed deaths continues of increase as rescue teams from Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, and the neighboring French islands go into action and assist with the rescue work and cleanup of the destruction.

He said the most affected area was Petite Savanne, on the southeastern part of the island, where up to 20 people could have died and where a team of French doctors was already at work.

The Organization of Eastern Caribbean States announced that it is mobilizing aid to help Dominica get through the current catastrophe inflicted by the devastating tropical storm.

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.

Tropical Storm Erika left heavy rains, power blackouts and some displaced persons in its path through Puerto Rico, but caused no serious damage.

The storm is now headed for the Dominican Republic, where it is expected to make landfall sometime Friday, and should reach the United States through South Florida on Monday, though without hurricane force. EFE