For about three days last month, Martin Royer did not know what had happened to his mother, brother, sister and other relatives on the small eastern Caribbean island of Dominica.
Tropical Storm Erika hit the island on Aug. 27, knocking out communications, bridges, roads and even the country’s two airports.
On Saturday, some of the phone lines were back. “I have heard from them, they’re doing well. My mom is in the northern part of the island and the description of the damage there is not as bad,” Mr. Royer said.
Mr. Royer, a minister at the George Town Church of Christ on Grand Cayman who is originally from Dominica, said it will be a long road back for his home country.
“It was only a tropical storm, but the rainfall in that particular storm was very heavy, 12 inches in four hours in some areas [on the southern coast],” he said. “Most of the people died in one community … it has to do with a lot of flash flooding.”
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