{"id":115782,"date":"2020-08-24T14:56:18","date_gmt":"2020-08-24T18:56:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?p=115782"},"modified":"2020-09-09T15:03:11","modified_gmt":"2020-09-09T19:03:11","slug":"laura-leaves-behind-deadly-destruction-and-years-of-cleanup-in-the-caribbean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/laura-leaves-behind-deadly-destruction-and-years-of-cleanup-in-the-caribbean\/","title":{"rendered":"Laura leaves behind deadly destruction and years of cleanup in the Caribbean"},"content":{"rendered":"
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While much of the focus has been on the\u00a0one-two tropical punch as Tropical Storm Laura is expected to track into the Gulf of Mexico close behind Marco<\/a>, Tropical Storm Laura first dealt residents throughout the Caribbean a strong uppercut over the weekend.<\/p>\n

With wreckage still littered throughout and damage reports trickling in on Monday morning, the initial reports have painted a haunting picture for the island region. According to multiple outlets, the death toll stands at 13 with the likelihood of rising as more impacts are uncovered.<\/p>

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Laura’s heaviest punches rained down on Haiti on Sunday, drilling the island nation with widespread flooding. Nine lives from Haiti were lost while another two individuals are still missing. Some of the most notable flooding occurred across the western and southeastern portions of the country, where videos on social media showed intensely murky floodwaters washing over streets near the civil protection authority office.<\/p>

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Earlier in the day, Haitian Prime Minister Joseph Jouthe commented on the crisis when the death toll stood at five lives. \u201cFive people are already dead, and it\u2019s five too many,” he said,\u00a0according to the Miami Herald<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As that toll rose, the tally included multiple children and the mother of a child who went missing after her vehicle was swept away by flash floods. Her 10-month-old son, who was in the vehicle with the mother at the time, is among the missing.<\/p>

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The first fatality came when a fallen tree crashed on a home in Anse-\u00e0-Pitre, a town near the Dominican Republic border. Inside the home was a 10-year-old girl who was killed.<\/p>\n

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Street vendors wade a flooded street during the passing of Tropical Storm Laura in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2020. (AP Photo\/Dieu Nalio Chery)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

In the aftermath of the destruction left by Laura, officials in Haiti are also cautioning residents to be aware of the other looming danger that hasn’t budged: COVID-19. While the country has a relatively low case rate of the pandemic, with 8,082 cases and 196 deaths as Monday,\u00a0authorities have urged caution to prevent further spread as cleanup begins<\/a>.<\/p>

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“Wear your masks and respect distances, especially in temporary shelters,” Interior Minister Audain Fils Bernadel said, according to Barrons. “With COVID, we have considerably less capacity in our shelters.”<\/p>

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