Reuters :
Hurricane Elsa blew roofs off homes, toppled trees and sparked flooding in the island nation of Barbados then pounded St. Vincent with heavy rain and winds on Friday, as the storm was tracking towards Haiti.
Minister of Home Affairs, Information and Public Affairs Wilfred A Abrahams urged Barbadians to shelter in place and only leave their homes if the structures were damaged.
Elsa strengthened into a hurricane earlier in the day and was about 95 miles (153 km) west-northwest of St. Vincent, blowing maximum sustained winds of 85 miles per hour (140 kph), the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.
“The island definitely cannot handle any sort of damages at this point because we still haven’t recovered from the volcanic eruption yet,” said 20-year-old student Queriise Thomas in the community of Choppins in southern St. Vincent.
