Elsa kills 3, leaves trail of destruction in the Caribbean
By
Lauren Fox, AccuWeather staff writer &
Zachary Rosenthal, AccuWeather staff writer
Updated Jul 6, 2021 8:12 AM EDT
Videos from social media show the destructive force of Hurricane Elsa as it swept across Barbados on July 2.
Elsa, the first hurricane of the 2021 Atlantic Hurricane Season, left a trail of destruction across the Caribbean, killing three people as it swept through with breakneck speed. The damaging storm is now threatening the United States after making landfall in Cuba on Monday.
The Lesser Antilles had the misfortune of experiencing Elsa as a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale as it made its way into the area on Friday morning. Elsa is the first hurricane to hit Barbados in 65 years, according to the Jamaica Observer. The storm has since lost wind intensity and is a tropical storm as of early Tuesday morning.
Barbados and Saint Lucia endured gusts of winds nearing or exceeding 80 mph.
One death was reported in Soufriere, St. Lucia, which saw significant wind damage, causing power outages to 30% of customers on the island, according to the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency. Government buildings also had their roofs torn off by Elsa's winds.
Two other deaths were reported in the Dominican Republic. A 15-year-old boy and a 75-year-old woman died in separate incidents from collapsed walls, The Associated Press reported.
Wilfred Abrahams, Barbados’ minister of home affairs, information and public affairs, urged those in Barbados to shelter in place, only evacuating if their homes were damaged structurally.
“We have been significantly affected,” Abrahams said, The Miami Herald reports. “There is widespread damage to property. There are roofs that have come off, roofs have collapsed, houses have collapsed. There are downed power lines across Barbados, live power lines, downed trees, some roads are impassable.”
Debris from a house lies next to a road after strong winds of Hurricane Elsa passed St. Michael, Barbados, July 2, 2021. REUTERS/Nigel Browne
One student in St. Vincent told Reuters they were concerned about the damage from the hurricane so soon after a series of volcanic eruptions left the island nation covered in a layer of ash just a few months ago.
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"The island definitely cannot handle any sort of damages at this point because we still haven't recovered from the volcanic eruption yet," 20-year-old student Queriise Thomas from the community of Choppins in southern St. Vincent told the news outlet.
On Saturday, conditions in Haiti and the Dominican Republic began to deteriorate as the tropical storm made its way toward the shared island of Hispaniola.
By Saturday evening, the storm track of Elsa moved away from the Dominican Republic. The Government of the Dominican Republic discontinued their tropical storm watches and warnings around 8 p.m. EDT, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.
Early Sunday, the storm, with winds of up to 60 miles per hour, was 50 miles north of Kingston, Jamaica. Southern Haiti and Jamaica braced for widespread heavy rain, which led to flooding.
The tropical storm began making its way toward Cuba on Sunday on its journey toward the U.S.
On Sunday, 180,000 individuals in Cuba were evacuated ahead of the storm's arrival, The Associated Press reported. The government of Cuba has also made moves toward the protection of crops on the island, such as sugarcane and cocoa.
Following Elsa's trek through the Caribbean, forecasters now anticipate the storm's arrival in the United States. The storm is expected to make landfall close to Tampa, Florida, Wednesday morning.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a state of emergency for 15 counties across the state prior to the storm making landfall in the U.S. Charlotte, Citrus, Collier, DeSoto, Hardee, Hernando, Hillsborough, Lee, Levy, Manatee, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Pasco, Pinellas and Sarasota counties are all included under the state of emergency.
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody activated Florida's Price Gouging Hotline. State law prohibits excessive increases in the price of essential commodities, reported News 4 Jacksonville.
"I have activated the Price Gouging Hotline to help Floridians purchasing essential commodities and ask that anyone who sees outrageous price increases on essential items please report it to our office immediately,” Moody said.
Monroe County, Florida, declared a local state of emergency, with the county's mayor saying that residents should prepare for the storm.
"We’re pretty used to having tropical storms and hurricanes in the Florida Keys, so we’re doing what we normally do,” Monroe County Mayor Michelle Coldiron said during an interview with NBC 6 anchor Alina Machado. “We’re telling everyone to pick up their patio furniture, get everything set, get extra water and batteries.”
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier, Spectrum, FuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios.
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News / Hurricane
Elsa kills 3, leaves trail of destruction in the Caribbean
By Lauren Fox, AccuWeather staff writer & Zachary Rosenthal, AccuWeather staff writer
Updated Jul 6, 2021 8:12 AM EDT
Videos from social media show the destructive force of Hurricane Elsa as it swept across Barbados on July 2.
Elsa, the first hurricane of the 2021 Atlantic Hurricane Season, left a trail of destruction across the Caribbean, killing three people as it swept through with breakneck speed. The damaging storm is now threatening the United States after making landfall in Cuba on Monday.
The Lesser Antilles had the misfortune of experiencing Elsa as a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale as it made its way into the area on Friday morning. Elsa is the first hurricane to hit Barbados in 65 years, according to the Jamaica Observer. The storm has since lost wind intensity and is a tropical storm as of early Tuesday morning.
Barbados and Saint Lucia endured gusts of winds nearing or exceeding 80 mph.
One death was reported in Soufriere, St. Lucia, which saw significant wind damage, causing power outages to 30% of customers on the island, according to the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency. Government buildings also had their roofs torn off by Elsa's winds.
Two other deaths were reported in the Dominican Republic. A 15-year-old boy and a 75-year-old woman died in separate incidents from collapsed walls, The Associated Press reported.
Wilfred Abrahams, Barbados’ minister of home affairs, information and public affairs, urged those in Barbados to shelter in place, only evacuating if their homes were damaged structurally.
“We have been significantly affected,” Abrahams said, The Miami Herald reports. “There is widespread damage to property. There are roofs that have come off, roofs have collapsed, houses have collapsed. There are downed power lines across Barbados, live power lines, downed trees, some roads are impassable.”
Debris from a house lies next to a road after strong winds of Hurricane Elsa passed St. Michael, Barbados, July 2, 2021. REUTERS/Nigel Browne
One student in St. Vincent told Reuters they were concerned about the damage from the hurricane so soon after a series of volcanic eruptions left the island nation covered in a layer of ash just a few months ago.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
"The island definitely cannot handle any sort of damages at this point because we still haven't recovered from the volcanic eruption yet," 20-year-old student Queriise Thomas from the community of Choppins in southern St. Vincent told the news outlet.
On Saturday, conditions in Haiti and the Dominican Republic began to deteriorate as the tropical storm made its way toward the shared island of Hispaniola.
By Saturday evening, the storm track of Elsa moved away from the Dominican Republic. The Government of the Dominican Republic discontinued their tropical storm watches and warnings around 8 p.m. EDT, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.
Early Sunday, the storm, with winds of up to 60 miles per hour, was 50 miles north of Kingston, Jamaica. Southern Haiti and Jamaica braced for widespread heavy rain, which led to flooding.
The tropical storm began making its way toward Cuba on Sunday on its journey toward the U.S.
On Sunday, 180,000 individuals in Cuba were evacuated ahead of the storm's arrival, The Associated Press reported. The government of Cuba has also made moves toward the protection of crops on the island, such as sugarcane and cocoa.
Following Elsa's trek through the Caribbean, forecasters now anticipate the storm's arrival in the United States. The storm is expected to make landfall close to Tampa, Florida, Wednesday morning.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a state of emergency for 15 counties across the state prior to the storm making landfall in the U.S. Charlotte, Citrus, Collier, DeSoto, Hardee, Hernando, Hillsborough, Lee, Levy, Manatee, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Pasco, Pinellas and Sarasota counties are all included under the state of emergency.
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody activated Florida's Price Gouging Hotline. State law prohibits excessive increases in the price of essential commodities, reported News 4 Jacksonville.
"I have activated the Price Gouging Hotline to help Floridians purchasing essential commodities and ask that anyone who sees outrageous price increases on essential items please report it to our office immediately,” Moody said.
READ MORE:
Monroe County, Florida, declared a local state of emergency, with the county's mayor saying that residents should prepare for the storm.
"We’re pretty used to having tropical storms and hurricanes in the Florida Keys, so we’re doing what we normally do,” Monroe County Mayor Michelle Coldiron said during an interview with NBC 6 anchor Alina Machado. “We’re telling everyone to pick up their patio furniture, get everything set, get extra water and batteries.”
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier, Spectrum, FuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo