Tropical Storm Franklin is roaring toward the island of Hispaniola shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti amid fears it will trigger deadly landslides and heavy flooding in both countries.
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Franklin was expected to swirl above the island for most of Wednesday, with forecasters warning the storm could dump up to 25 centimetres of rain, with a maximum of 38cm in isolated areas.
By Tuesday night, the storm was located 280 kilometres southwest of Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. It had maximum winds of 65 kilometres and hour and was moving northward at 15 km/h.
Ariel Henry, the country's prime minister, had urged Haitians on Tuesday to stock up on water, food and medication as authorities checked on some of the more than 200,000 people displaced by gang violence, with some living on the street or in makeshift shelters.
In the Dominican Republic, officials shuttered schools, government agencies and several airports with at least 24 of the country's 31 provinces under red alert.
Flooding was reported on Tuesday in the capital of Santo Domingo and beyond, where residents prepared for heavy rainfall.
The storm worried thousands of Dominicans who live in flood-prone areas.
A tropical storm warning was in effect for the entire southern coast of the Dominican Republic and Haiti, as well as the entire northern Dominican coast. A tropical storm watch was posted for the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Franklin is the seventh named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30. An eighth named storm, Gert, dissipated on Tuesday.
On August 10, the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration updated its forecast and warned that this year's hurricane season would be above normal. Between 14 to 21 named storms are forecast. Of those, six to 11 could become hurricanes, with two to five of them possibly becoming major hurricanes.
Australian Associated Press
