By RIA Novosti
Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) : Tropical storm Noel, which has killed at least 115 people so far, is now ranked a category one hurricane and continues to batter the Caribbean with heavy rain and strong winds, local media reported Friday.
The Dominican Republic has been hardest hit with 73 people dead since Monday. More than 60,000 people have been evacuated and a state of emergency has been declared in 28 provinces, including capital Santo Domingo.
In Haiti, which was also badly hit, at least 40 people were reported to have died. One person died in Jamaica, and another was killed in the Bahamas.
In Cuba, more than 10,000 people have been evacuated, but no casualties have been reported. The island received more than double the average October rainfall.
Storm warnings were issued in southeast Florida, but the alerts were lifted Thursday afternoon when Noel started to change direction. The US National Hurricane Center said the hurricane is currently moving northeast away from the Bahamas and towards Bermuda with strong winds up to 120 kilometres per hour.
Noel, the 14th storm of the Atlantic hurricane season to be named, is ranked the deadliest this year.