Elsa Kills at Least 3, Cuba Evacuates 180,000 Ahead of Landfall as Storm Batters Caribbean

 The Associated Press and weather.com

Published: July 5, 2021

Tropical Storm Elsa has killed at least three people and left a trail of damage in the Caribbean as it closes in on Cuba and a likely Florida landfall early this week.

In St. Lucia, the storm killed one person, the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency said. In the Dominican Republic, a 15-year-old boy and a 75-year-old woman died in separate events after walls collapsed on them, according to the Emergency Operations Center.

(MORE: How Florida Is Preparing | Track Elsa)

Elsa, the first Atlantic hurricane of the season, hit Barbados as a Category 1 storm and left more than 1,100 people with damaged houses, including 62 homes that collapsed. The government promised to find and fund temporary housing to avoid clustering people in shelters amid the pandemic.

In advance of the storm in Cuba, the government opened shelters and evacuated 180,000 people along the southern part of the island. Some of those provinces have reported a high number of COVID-19 infections, raising concerns that the storm could force large groups of people to seek shelter together.

The storm also downed trees in Haiti, injuring at least three people, according to the country's Civil Protection Agency. The nation is very vulnerable to landslides and flooding because of widespread deforestation and erosion.

Antony Exilien secures the roof of his house in response to Tropical Storm Elsa, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Saturday, July 3, 2021.

In Florida, President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration, which will give the state federal resources to prepare for and respond to the impacts of the storm.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.