SAMANA, Dominican Republic - Slow-moving Tropical Storm Jeanne lashed the Dominican Republic on Friday with wind and rain that triggered mudslides and collapsed walls before it weakened to a tropical depression and headed toward the Bahamas. Eight were killed across the Caribbean.
The storm was moving on a course that would take it through the Bahamas late today, but it was too soon to tell whether it would strengthen or affect Florida. The U.S. State Department issued a travel warning for the Bahamas.
"It would take a while for it to strengthen at this point," said Brian Jarvinen, a meteorologist at the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami. "On Florida, we're not out of the woods yet but it's still too soon to say what will happen."
A Dominican man was crushed to death by a falling palm tree Friday, and another died from a heart attack when he couldn't get to a hospital because of the storm, said Juan Luis German, spokesman for the National Emergency Committee. A third man drowned when he was swept up in a swollen river, German said.
All three deaths occurred in El Seybo, a town 80 miles northeast of Santo Domingo, the capital.
Thousands were stranded on rooftops of flooded homes in San Pedro de Macoris, where the River Soco burst its banks. Helicopters were used to rescue people in the northeastern fishing town.
The storm was still lashing nearby Puerto Rico with rain Friday. A severe thunderstorm in the south produced lightning and gusty winds.
Officials in Puerto Rico urged islanders to boil their piped water. Half the 4-million residents lacked running water for a third day and 70 percent lacked electricity.
