ROSEAU, Dominica — Rescue crews jumped off boats and trudged through mud, rocks and uprooted trees Saturday to reach communities cut off by a tropical storm that killed at least 20 people and left nearly 50 missing in the eastern Caribbean island of Dominica.
Volunteers helped carry food, water and clothes for dozens of Dominicans who have been isolated for up to three days after Tropical Storm Erika dumped some 15 inches of rain on the mountainous island.
Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit pleaded for international aid, saying the damage pushed Dominica back by two decades, and he warned of more rain in upcoming days. He met Saturday with members of a newly created committee charged with helping rebuild an island devastated by floods and landslides.
“It’s a very daunting task,” said opposition leader Lennox Linton, who met with Skerrit. “The country has been significantly set back.”
At least 20 people were still missing in the southeast village of Petite Savanne, one of the hardest hit areas and home to some of Dominica’s steepest mountains.
“They are not expected to be found,” Linton said, warning that the number of dead and missing would likely rise. Dozens of injured were still being airlifted to the hospital in the capital of Roseau.
Among those receiving care was Richard Baron, a 51-year-old mechanic who was swept away in a flood with his son as they scooped mud out of their home.
“He shouted, ‘Daddy, Daddy! Daddy, Daddy! When I look up, I see the whole mountain and everything was coming down toward us,” he said. “I was down on the ground, gliding with the landslide.”
Baron said he managed to grab onto a tree and then onto his son.
“My son was about 10 feet away from the ravine. He would have perished,” Baron said, adding that he lost several friends and relatives.
As Dominicans struggled with the loss of family and property, they heeded Skerrit’s advice to help each other.
Go-fast boats zipped around Dominica, carrying rescuers and those seeking to reach relatives trapped in isolated communities.
Young men around Roseau fanned out to assist neighbors and clear roads, said Thomas Holmes, a guidance counselor who has been meeting with victims he said are numbed by the disaster.
