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Tropical Storm Erika Dissipates After Killing 21


Residents salvage a mattress from a home partly submerged in mud from a mudslide triggered by Tropical Storm Erika in Montrouis, Haiti, Aug. 29, 2015.
Residents salvage a mattress from a home partly submerged in mud from a mudslide triggered by Tropical Storm Erika in Montrouis, Haiti, Aug. 29, 2015.

Tropical Storm Erika has weakened over Cuba, after bringing death and destruction in the Caribbean to Dominica and Haiti.

At least 20 people were reported killed in Dominica and one in Haiti, while several were still missing.

Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said Erika brought "monumental destruction" to the tiny island (751 square kilometers, or 290 square miles) of nearly 75,000 people.

"The visual damage I saw today, I fear, may have set our development process back by 20 years," Skerrit said after surveying the island.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami said that while the storm has weakened, it could rebuild as it passes over the Gulf of Mexico.

Florida Governor Rick Scott declared a state of emergency Friday. Residents across the state have cleared store shelves of emergency supplies and bottled water.

Meanwhile, in the Pacific, Hurricane Ignacio has grown to a Category 4 storm as it heads toward Hawaii.

Forecasters said Ignacio's path was uncertain, but it could cause widespread damage because of the storm's dangerous surf, winds and rain.

Ignacio is being followed by Hurricane Jimena, which has strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane but seems unlikely to hit land.

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