Deadly Storm Noel Hits Northern Cuba

Oct 30, 08:07 AM

Current Headlines: Tropical Storm Noel reached northern Cuba early Tuesday after killing 20 people in the Dominican Republic.

Dominican Republic national emergency official Manuel Antonio Luna Paulino said at least 20 people died in the rainy storm and 20 more were missing as flooding and mudslides swept the Caribbean island nation, the Palm Beach (Fla.) Post reported. While there were no initial reports of fatalities in neighboring Haiti, that country's terrain heightened concern that there would be casualties, as well, the report said.

Noel wasn't expected to hit South Florida head-on but forecasters at Miami's National Hurricane Center said at 5 a.m. Tuesday it was possible a watch would be posted later.

Watches and warnings covered the Bahamas, as well as parts of Cuba. At 5 a.m., Noel was packing winds near 60 mph around near the town of Gibara on the north coast of Cuba and about 270 miles south-southeast of Nassau in the Bahamas. The storm was moving west at 12 mph, forecasters said.

Noel shorted the Dominican Republic's entire power system early Monday, leaving 9.4 million people without electricity for about two hours, the state-owned electric company said.