SANTO DOMINGO, December 14 (RIA Novosti) - The death toll in the Caribbean in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Olga has risen, with at least 38 dead and many more missing, local newspaper reports said Friday.
Rescuers reported the deaths of at least 12 people from neighboring Haiti who died on a farm in the Dominican Republic.
Over 35,000 people have been evacuated in the hardest hit northern province of Santiago after the Yaque del Norte River burst its banks and washed away a number of homes.
So far, a total of 7,500 homes have been destroyed by the floods, and the total loss for the country's banana plantations and crops is estimated at $40 million, local officials said.
The tropical storm, which came 10 days after the six-month Atlantic-Caribbean hurricane season officially ended, was the 15th storm to hit the region this year. In early November, Tropical Storm Noel killed at least 89 people in the Dominican Republic.
