Storm Erika leaves 20 dead, 31 missing on Dominica island

At least 20 people have lost their lives and dozens of others are missing after Tropical Storm Erika hit Dominica and left a trail of destruction on the small Caribbean island state.

“So far we have confirmed that at least 20 citizens have died, and some are missing,” Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said in a televised address late on Friday.

Officials with the Barbados-based Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency also said at least 31 people have been reported missing on the island, which houses about 72,000 people.

A particularly wet storm, Erica has dumped some 15 inches (38 centimeters) of rain on Dominica, unleashing floods and mudslides and causing damage to the mountainous island’s infrastructure, roads and bridges.

“The visual damage I saw today, I fear, may have set our development process back by 20 years,” the premier said.