Southern US In Throes Of Double Storms, Thousands Evacuated

Thousands of people have been evacuated from parts of the Caribbean and southern United States as two storms tore through the region on Sunday.

Hurricane Marco and Tropical Storm Laura have brought high winds and rough seas, damaging areas in Haiti, Cuba and the Dominican Republic.

Heavy rains have also battered the US territory of Puerto Rico.

Marco is expected to make landfall in the US state of Louisiana on Monday, with Laura hitting Texas by Thursday.

Forecasters speculate Laura may move east towards Louisiana, and it could be the first time in recorded history that the state has been hit by two simultaneous hurricanes.

Marco strengthened to a hurricane on Sunday, with sustained winds of up to 75mph (120km/h), and is moving north between Cuba and Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula.

Laura is also predicted to become a hurricane on Wednesday, with its course heading northwest towards Houston, America’s fourth-largest city.

In the the Dominican Republic, at least three have died as Laura swept through the country, leaving more than a million people without electricity.

The BBC reports that among those killed was a seven-year-old boy who died with his mother after a wall collapsed in their home. The third person died after a tree collapsed on a house.

Five other deaths have been reported in Haiti, including that of a 10-year-old girl. The capital Port-au-Prince, is also experiencing severe flooding.

Meanwhile in Cuba, many residents in the country’s eastern regions have been evacuated and housed in shelters or safer buildings on higher ground.