4 dead, 1 missing as Fay hits Haiti, D.R.

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, Aug. 16 (UPI) -- Tropical Storm Fay killed at least four people as it swept across Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

In Haiti, one death was blamed on the storm and another person was missing, the Haiti Press Network said. In the Dominican Republic, a woman and her son and daughter died when their car was swept away by floodwaters, Listin Diario reported.

The storm dumped several inches of rain Friday and Saturday on the two countries, which share the island of Hispaniola. Haiti is especially vulnerable to landslides and flooding because of deforestation.

Thousands of people in the Dominican Republic were forced to leave their homes, Listin Diario said.

Rescue workers found the bodies Saturday of Alexandra Castillo, 13, and her brother, Alexis, 5, Listin Diario reported. Their mother, Esther Jimenez Almonte, was also killed.

Evaristo Calderon, who was driving, managed to swim to safety, escaping the water that killed his family.