Miami - Tropical Storm Erika weakened slightly on Thursday as it dumped torrential rain on islands in the Eastern Caribbean and appeared to be headed for the US East Coast early next week, the US National Hurricane Center said.
Erika could reach hurricane status near Florida's east coast by Monday morning, the Miami-based government forecaster said.
Heavy rains lashed the small, mountainous island of Dominica where local media reported overflowing rivers and landslides washed away several roads and bridges.
The Dominica Broadcasting Service said there were unconfirmed reports of four people missing after they were swept away by a swollen river.
Dominica's tourism minister, Robert Tonge, posted photographs and video on Facebook showing widespread flooding in the capital and urged everyone to stay inside.
While forecasters can be reasonably certain of Erika's path, its intensity is harder to predict and it could fall apart as it passes over land.
Last week the season's first hurricane, Danny, dissipated rapidly as it reached the Caribbean.
The last hurricane to hit Florida was Wilma in October 2005.
Florida Governor Rick Scott held a statewide conference call with emergency officials, Florida National Guard, and local law enforcement. Afterward, he said 8 000 National Guard were ready to mobilize and communications had been tested in anticipation of a weekend landfall.
He urged residents, especially those who have moved to Florida in the decade since Wilma, to follow news reports. Coastal residents should lay in a three-day supply of food and water, know where emergency shelters are and check on elderly or infirm friends and relatives, Scott said.
“If they say you need to evacuate, you need to evacuate,” he said. “If you look to the history, a lot of times it's not the storm that causes the problem, it's the aftermath because as individuals we didn't get prepared.”
Erika, the fifth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, was about 160 miles (257 km) west of Guadalupe with maximum sustained winds of 45 miles per hour (72 kph) as of midday. It was expected to reach the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico by Thursday evening, then pass over the Dominican Republic on Friday and continue northwest over the Bahamas.
Tropical storm warnings were in effect for Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, St. Martin/St Maarten, St. Barthelemy, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, Anguilla, Saba and St. Eustatius.
Erika was expected to produce 3 to 5 inches of rain across portions of the Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic through Friday, offering relief from a recent drought.
Reuters