Hurricane Elsa claimed its first three victims: one in Saint Lucia and two in the Dominican Republic

Hurricane Elsa claimed its first three victims as it passed through the Caribbean on Saturday, authorities reported. One in Santa Lucia and two others in the Dominican Republic.

A man was found dead under the rubble of his home, destroyed by the hurricane in Saint Lucia. He was the first fatality from the aforementioned cyclone as it passed through the Eastern Caribbean, as Prime Minister Allen Chastnet reported on Saturday, while Jamaica is preparing for its near step.

The old man resided in the town of Soufrière on the west coast of Saint Lucia, Chastnet added.

“My condolences to the family of the man who lost his life at Fond St Jacques. You are in my thoughts and prayers, ”said Chastanet, who noted that there are several damaged buildings, including a few schools in the western part.

Later, the passage of the already tropical storm Elsa near the southern coast of the Dominican Republic left two dead, as confirmed to Efe the director of the Emergency Operations Center (COE), Juan Manuel Méndez.

The first of the deaths is a 15-year-old boy, a resident of Bahoruco municipality, Barahona province, died when a wall fell on him which collapsed due to wind and rain, Méndez said. In similar circumstances, the death of a 75-year-old woman near the town of Baní, province of Peravia, said the head of the WCC.

For its part, Jamaican authorities have activated their disaster committees across the country to respond to emergencies this could happen as the system gets closer to the island.

Local Government and Rural Development Minister Desmond McKenzie said the disaster committees to react to any situation that could result from the passage of the hurricane.

McKenzie, in a speech on Saturday, specifically called on residents of flood-prone areas, urging them to heed bulletins issued by the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) and the branch of the National Weather Service.

Don’t wait to be concerned. ODPEM, in the coming days, will be opening a series of lines so that, if people need help, they can call for information. “

He said all municipal corporations have been instructed to be in a “state of readiness” and move critical equipment to strategic points, so that they can react to landslides or any other problem that may arise.

“I have given instructions that when the cleaning of critical drains is required, the municipalities take the necessary measures to do so,” said the minister.

“We want to make sure we do to the best of our ability to avoid further loss of life and to minimize any damage as much as possible it can happen because of the system, ”he said.

A tropical storm warning is in effect for Jamaica.

To his Passing through Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the hurricane caused damage to agriculture and the demolition of power lines, walls and trees, like in Barbados, especially in the south.

With information from EFE

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