MIAMI – Tropical Storm Erika threatened Haiti with heavy rain and strong winds on Friday as it swirled across the Caribbean but showed signs of losing steam as it headed toward south Florida, the US National Hurricane Centre said.
At least eight people were confirmed dead on the island of Dominica, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said on Twitter, though rescuers still searched for others reported missing.
Because of some likely weakening over mountainous areas of Haiti and Cuba, Erika was no longer forecast to make landfall in the US as a hurricane.
Instead, it could lose tropical storm strength by Saturday, with winds falling below 40 miles per hour (64 km per hour) as it moves over eastern Cuba, though “very heavy rainfall” was a concern.
“The forecast intensity has been significantly changed to show a much weaker cyclone,” the hurricane centre said in a Friday evening advisory.
If Erika survives the mountains, it could regain intensity over the Straits of Florida and the Gulf of Mexico, it added.
“We’re not quite prepared to rule out tropical storm impacts in Florida,” the NHC said.
Florida Governor Rick Scott declared a state of emergency on Friday, noting the storm could travel “up the spine of Florida” from Sunday into next week.
He said the Tampa area on Florida’s Gulf Coast was a major flood concern because of saturation from rain this month.
© 2015 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions
