Tropical Storm Erika left at least 12 people dead when it swept over the island of Dominica on Friday before rolling on to pummel the Dominican Republic and menace Haiti.
While crews rushed to search for survivors and clean up scenes of chaos on Caribbean islands, Haitian authorities issued travel restrictions and the US state of Florida declared a state of emergency.
But forecasters said Friday afternoon that by the time the storm clears Haiti it could be reduced to a tropical depression.
Forecasters expect the southeastern United States to feel Erika’s wrath as early as this weekend, after it lashes the island of Hispaniola, which is shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti, and the north coast of Cuba, which has also issued an alert over the storm.
By that time the storm may be considerably weakened.
“Weakening is forecast during the next 48 hours, and Erika is forecast to weaken to a tropical depression on Saturday,” the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said in its latest update.
It added that the storm could dissipate entirely to a low pressure “trough” after its Hispaniola passage.
Haitian officials said aid convoys were on their way throughout the country in preparation for the storm. The country is particularly at risk due to its weakened infrastructure from a 2010 earthquake.
Authorities in Dominica, southeast of the Dominican Republic, surveyed the damage on Friday.
“I can confirm 12 but the number may be higher,” Dominican Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said about the death toll, in a tweet posted on his way to the hard-hit village of Petite Savanne.
Local media, however, put the death toll much higher.
According to news site TheDominican.net, 27 people were reported dead in Petite Savanne alone after a “massive mudslide” demolished several houses.