Erika could make north turn

The storm is expected to continue on a mostly west northwest track over the next few days, Pasch said, before turning right along the southwestern and western edge of a ridge of high pressure.

An elderly blind man and two children were killed when a mudslide crashed into their home in the southeast of the island, said Police Chief Daniel Carbon. Dominica officials reported at least four dead from flooding and mudslides triggered by the storm. Some 18,000 people were without power, with widespread power outages reported on the popular sister island of Culebra late Thursday.

Florida Governor Rick Scott briefed the media Thursday afternoon on the situation with the storm.

Even though the eye of the storm had passed, authorities had not completed a full assessment.

“The capital city is a wreck”, policewoman Teesha Alfred said.

A tropical storm watch is in effect for Guadeloupe; the north coast of the Dominican Republic, from Cabo Engano to Cabo Frances Viejo; the southeastern Bahamas; and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

“That would certainly not be good news for Hispaniola”, he said.

The biggest threat will be to lives and property from flash flooding and mudslides.

“This is a fast-moving storm, and so we expect the deterioration to be rapid”, he said.

“We’re advising people to stay put”, Carbon said. Forecasters say that Erika is expected to reach the Leeward Islands by Wednesday night or early Thursday morning.

All airports in the U.S. Virgin Islands will be closed to incoming flights until Friday, and government offices will be closed as well, said Gov. Kenneth Mapp.

This year’s weaker hurricane season is partly attributed to the El Niño weather phenomenon, the warming of Pacific waters that affects wind patterns and makes hurricanes less likely in the Atlantic-Caribbean basin.

A Thursday morning report from the Department of Disaster Management described Erika as being 146 miles southeast of the VI and moving west at 16 miles per hour.

One county in North Central Florida is making plans for residents in the wake of tropical storm Erika.

If Tropical Storm Erika appears to be reaching hurricane strength this weekend, the town will remove construction fencing around the recently restored Memorial Fountain.