Hurricane Elsa cuts power, blows roofs off in Barbados By Reuters

By Robert Edison Sandiford

CHRIST CHURCH, Barbados (Reuters) – Hurricane Elsa triggered power outages, blew the roofs off homes, knocked down trees and caused flooding in areas of the island-nation of Barbados on Friday, according to a Reuters witness.

Elsa strengthened into a hurricane earlier in the day and was about 40 miles (64 km) west of Barbados, blowing maximum sustained winds of 75 miles per hour (120 km/h), the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.

The NHC said it activated a hurricane warning for Barbados, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, meaning hurricane conditions are expected in the next few hours and preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion.

Elsa’s progress should be monitored by the Windward Islands, Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and Cuba, the Miami-based NHC said. It forecast additional hurricane warnings would likely be needed later in the day for portions of Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Elsa’s storm surge is expected to raise water levels by as much as 1 to 3 feet above normal tide levels in areas of onshore winds in the hurricane warning area in the Windward Islands and along the southern coast of Hispaniola.

The NHC forecast rainfall totals of 3 to 6 inches with maximums of 10 inches on Friday across the Windward and southern Leeward Islands, including Barbados, which could lead to isolated flash flooding and mudslides.