SANTO DOMINGO. – The country’s Civil Defense reports that so far around 2,200 people are in shelters and 446 homes have been affected by Tropical Storm Fay’s lashing winds and downpours across the island.

In Higuey (east), the bodies of Esther Jiménez Almonte (Cuca), 34, her niece Alexandra and her nephew Alexis Mieses Abreu, 12 and 6 respectively, were recovered by Civil Defense crews from the creek El Cajero.

Residents in the country’s northeastern, eastern, and Santo Domingo provinces have suffered damages as the tropical wave quickly turned into a tropical storm, with winds extending 140 kilometers north and east of its center, located near latitude 18.6 North latitude and 70.5 West longitude.

Newspaper Diario Libre said a bridge collapsed in the town Sabana Larga, San Jose de Ocoa province (south), but no reports of injuries.