The death toll from tropical storm Olga climbed to more than 30 on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, local newspaper reports said Friday, according to DPA. Twelve Haitian seasonal workers drowned in flooding late Thursday on the Dominican Republic side of the island, which has been drenched by days of rain that unleashed mudslides and floods. The death toll stood at 22 on Thursday, including two dead in Haiti. Most of the deaths occurred in Santiago, located about 250 kilometres north of the capital, Santo Domingo, where the Yaque River brimmed over its banks. The flooding resulted not only from heavy rain but also the discharge of water from a dam. Many people were still reported missing around Santiago. Tens of thousands were evacuated to shelters, and 76 communities remained cut off by the floods. Meanwhile, in Mexico, officials began evacuating some 20,000 people in Tabasco and Chiapas in preparation for a clean-up from November's floods. On Tuesday, Mexican authorities will let water through a canal opened through the debris that still blocks a large part of the Grijalva river - a move that officials fear could release pent-up floodwaters. The nearby Penitas dam is also set to let off water. The river was blocked in early November, when a mudslide buried the village of San Juan Grijalva, in Chiapas, leaving 16 people dead and six other missing.
