Caribbean flood damage topping hurricane winds

Caribbean flood damage topping hurricane winds Heavy rains created still more flooding in the Dominican Republic and Jamaica Tuesday and into today, as local officials continued to struggle with housing and infrastructure problems from the heavy rains of this year's hurricane season.
   More than 600 people were evacuated from Puerto Plata and Duarte Provinces in the Dominican Republic Tuesday, according to a report in Dominican Today, while Miches and El Seibo provinces were cut off from the rest of the country when the Cedro River overflowed its banks.
   In Jamaica, flash-flood warnings were in effect through northern parishes Tuesday, and the mayor of Kingston said the local government had approved an expedited allocation of JD$750 million (US$10.6 million) for road repairs, according to reports from the Jamaica Gleaner and Radio Jamaica.
      Although the Caribbean has not seen the wind damage experienced in many hurricane seasons, residents say the heavy rains have caused flooding that is worse than any weather-related problems in years.
   Hurricane Dean and Tropical Storm Noel soaked many locations earlier this year, and a low-pressure system over the southwest Caribbean this week is continuing to soak already waterlogged islands.
   'The rains have not done us any favor and the forecast doesn't hold too well based on what is happening,' Kingston Mayor Desmond McKenzie said Tuesday. 'This can be considered the worst hurricane season we have had in many moons and only one real hurricane can be associated with the season.'
   Although the rains drove more Dominicans from their homes, the Civil Defense officials said the total number of evacuees was at 7,621, down from a high of 65,000.