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| Dominicans die in torrential rain | Dominicans die in torrential rain |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| At least eight people have been killed in flooding in the Dominican Republic following torrential rains dumped by Tropical Storm Noel. | At least eight people have been killed in flooding in the Dominican Republic following torrential rains dumped by Tropical Storm Noel. |
| The deaths were reported in the Dominican capital Santo Domingo, and along the south coast. | The deaths were reported in the Dominican capital Santo Domingo, and along the south coast. |
| It is feared the death toll will rise, with several others reported missing. | It is feared the death toll will rise, with several others reported missing. |
| The Dominican Republic and neighbouring Haiti were likely to be deluged by 25-50cm (10-20in) of rain, the US National Hurricane Centre said. | |
| The centre of the storm had passed by midday on Monday, and was set to head north towards the Bahamas. | The centre of the storm had passed by midday on Monday, and was set to head north towards the Bahamas. |
| However, rain continued to fall, forcing river levels higher. Several bridges were reported to have collapsed, cutting off communities. | |
| Several hundred people were being evacuated, amid fears of flash floods and landslides, the Dominican authorities said. | |
| The newspaper Diario Libre said on its website that farmers had suffered big losses and that numerous areas had lost power. | |
| Deforested slopes | |
| The island of Hispaniola - divided between the Dominican Republic and Haiti - is particularly vulnerable to flooding because of its steep hills and because many houses are no more than shacks. | |
| While there were not as yet any reports of fatalities from Haiti, the country often suffers worse from flooding than its neighbour because so much of it has been deforested. | While there were not as yet any reports of fatalities from Haiti, the country often suffers worse from flooding than its neighbour because so much of it has been deforested. |
| The town of Cabaret, north of the capital Port-au-Prince, where floods killed at least 23 people this month, was being evacuated, said Marie Alta Jean-Baptiste, director of Haiti's civil protection agency. | |
| "We are working hard to make sure everything goes well," he told the Associated Press. |