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Death toll from Erika climbs to 35 in Dominica

Erica sweeps a boulder downstream.

Roseau, Dominica (TDN) The death toll from Tropical storm Erika, which struck Dominica on Thursday August 27, 2015, is expected to climb to 35 making it the deadliest storm in the country’s recent history.

Not since the twin hurricanes of September 1806 when 437 and 165 people died on the 9th and 20th respectively have more Dominicans perished from the wrath of a tropical storm; and 50 reportedly perished from one that traversed the island late August 1916.

It is almost a week since the disaster and hope has all but faded that the 24 persons still missing will be found alive. Among this number are 20 from the single village of Petite Savanne population 620. Already six from the village buried alive by the numerous mudslides have been found.

Among the missing are two French nationals and a Dominican residing in Antigua who just the night before the storm had made his way to Petite Savanne to visit with his mother.

Meanwhile harrowing tales of survival have come from those lucky enough to escape the wrath of Erika. Some miraculously cheated death while others by sheer grit and determination were able to stay alive.

One such case is that of Santony Lazaare of Rosalie. He recounts that fateful morning when the rain began to fall. “I did not think it was different from before until I looked down and saw the river start to get wider,” he recounted.

Lazaare who was at his home waiting for the rain to subside decided to take a look outside and what he saw deeply disturbed him. The Rosalie River was rising fast, then he detected a shifting of the soil just a few feet away and then came the rumbling.

His entire body shook, just feet away to his right the earth was moving and sliding. “I decided at that time to jump.” he said. Perched on the hilltop, Lazaare in his frenzied fear could not have gauged just how far he had to jump.

Then he felt the jarring as his right leg which hit the ground first literally came apart. He could not know it at that time but his leg was broken in several places. But he felt the excruciating pain and realized that he could not move.

With his mind almost numb with pain Lazaare turned over on his back looked towards the heavens and resigned himself to his fate. It was approaching 12 noon.

Suddenly he heard a whooshing noise. “I looked up to see my house literally sailing in the air above me along with what at the time seemed like the entire mountain. Miraculously the debris flew past leaving him untouched.

Summoning the last ounce of strength in his body Laxaare rolled toward the road below. He would remain there until a passerby spotted him at about 5 in the afternoon. However, his ordeal was far from over. He was taken to the nearby village of Riviere Cyrique and placed in the health center where he would have to endure three solid days of uncompromising pain.

Finally a few brave fire officers carried him gingerly over the same slide that had almost cost him his life. When I met him at the hospital two days later he was awaiting an appointment with the doctor for a possible amputation.

“The way I feel now and the kind of pain I have had to go through I would not mind if the doctors cut my leg, “ he said. “The pain simply has been too much,” he added.

And like his individual pain the raw suffering of an entire nation is on display as it tries to come to terms with a storm that will forever be remembered for the horror it inflicted on its innocent victims.