Tropical Storm Laura Claims 8 Lives In The Caribbean

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. Aug. 14, 2020: Tropical Storm Laura claimed the lives of 8 people in the Caribbean Sunday after bringing heavy rain and flooding to Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Tropical Storm Laura hammered Hispaniola island with heavy rain killing at least three people in the Dominican Republic and five in Haiti.

A woman looks on as she wades through a flooded street in Santo Domingo after Tropical Storm Laura caused destruction in the Dominican capital, on August 23, 2020. – Tropical Storm Laura hammered Hispaniola island with heavy rain killing at least three people in the Dominican Republic and five in Haiti, and was set to become a hurricane on Tuesday. (Photo by ERIKA SANTELICES/afp/AFP via Getty Images)

A child died after a tree fell on his house in Alcarrizos neighborhood in Santo Domingo on August 23, 2020 as Tropical Storm Laura battered the region.

Juan Manuel Mendez, head of the DR’s Center of Emergency Operations said a woman and a child also died at home.

In Haiti, a 10-year-old child also died when a house collapsed while a woman was swept away in southeastern Haiti while trying to cross a fast-flowing river.

A woman is seen on the ground after lost her life due to the storm caused by Tropical Storm Laura, in Petion-Ville, in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti on August 23, 2020. In the commune of Petiot Ville mainly in the district which is called head of water located directly in the gully, the storm Laura made deaths and wounds. (Photo by Sabin Johnson/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Another woman and two men were killed in the capital Port-au-Prince due to the storm, though no further details were given.

The storm brought flooding to areas in Santo Domingo, Petion-Ville  and Tabarre township in Port-Au-Prince as well a power outage. It is expected to become a major hurricane by Tuesday even as Marco has already become a category 1 hurricane.

Flooding in Tabarre township caused by Tropical Storm Laura, in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti on August 23, 2020. People try to cross despite the road is flooded. (Photo by Sabin Johnson/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Both storms are now headed towards the US’ Gulf Coast. On the forecast track, the center of Laura was set to move near or over southern coast Cuba Sunday night and Monday, according to the National Hurricane Center and move over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico Monday night and Tuesday.  Laura is expected to move over the central and northwestern Gulf of Mexico Tuesday night and Wednesday.

Laura is expected to produce rainfall accumulations through Tuesday of up to 12 inches in the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Jamaica, and 4-8 in Cuba as well as 2 to 4 in the Cayman Islands, 1 to 2 inches Turks and Caicos and southeast Bahamas and 1 to 2 inches across the Greater Antilles.