Tropical storm flooding kills 9 in Caribbean

By Manuel Jimenez

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (Reuters) - Flash flooding from Tropical Storm Olga's torrential rains killed at least eight people in the Dominican Republic and forced tens of thousands out of their homes, government officials said on Wednesday.

The storm weakened on Wednesday to a tropical depression after it exited Hispaniola, the island shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic. But flooding remained a deadly threat as the remnants of Olga moved west across the Caribbean, forecasters at the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

By late afternoon, Olga was just a broad mass of thunderstorms centered 65 miles north of Kingston, Jamaica. It was moving rapidly west on a course that would keep the center south of Cuba and take it over Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula by Saturday.

Olga's top sustained winds dropped to 35 mph (55 kph), below the threshold to be called a tropical storm, and forecasters expected it to dissipate further on Thursday.

See full story at: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071212/wl_nm/storm_olga_dc

Photo: Subtropical storm Olga is seen in the Caribbean in a satellite image taken December 11, 2007. (NOAA/Handout/Reuters)

Noel’s Devastation Still Affecting Caribbean

UCTP Taino News – Last month, Tropical Storm Noel devastated parts of the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba, and the Bahamas, with incessant rains and massive flooding that took the lives of several dozen people and destroyed thousands of homes, crops and infrastructure. According to preliminary assessments conducted by the U.N. and other international agencies, the Dominican Republic was the hardest hit, with close to 85 persons dead, 48 missing, and an estimated 66,568 displaced.

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) reports that as a result of the storm the potential for an outbreak of dengue fever in the Dominican Republic is high. Mosquito nets and water purification and collection material are critical focus of relief work. As of November 15th CRS also reported that many roads are still impassible in the Dominican Republic and Haiti and communication infrastructure is severely damaged “leaving thousands stranded.”

The organization - CRS - has committed $500,000 dollars to the relief effort and is seeking additional donations at http://crs.org/haiti/noel-floods/

Photo: The Madre Vieja Bridge over the Nigua River in San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic. Photo by José Luis Guigni/CRS

Hurricane Noel to dump rain along East Coast

Caribbean death toll rises to 124; storm deadliest in Atlantic for 2007

NASSAU, Bahamas - Hurricane Noel, the deadliest storm to hit the Atlantic this year, paralleled the U.S. coast on Friday, losing strength as it headed north toward Nova Scotia.

Noel slammed the Caribbean earlier this week with heavy rains that caused flooding and mudslides, leaving 124 dead, officials said.

After drenching the Bahamas and Cuba on Thursday, the Category 1 hurricane’s sustained winds were at 80 mph on Friday and its center was about 425 miles south of Cape Hatteras, N.C., the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said. Noel is moving to the north-northeast at about 17 mph but was expected to pick up speed.

Read the full story at: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21526342/