Two killed as tropical storm Elsa lashes Dominican Republic

High waves hit the coast of Dominican Republic's capital Santo Domingo on Saturday (July 3) as Storm Elsa lashed the country, leaving two people dead.

Videos shot in the waterfront boulevard of Malecon showed strong winds blowing through trees and debris on the road.

The two deaths occurred in southwest Bahoruco province, according to the director for the Dominican Republic's centre for emergency operations. Some flooding was also reported in San Cristobal province, prompting about 100 evacuations, while waves of 12 to 14 feet (3.5 to 4.2 metres) washed debris ashore in Santo Domingo.

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Elsa was clocking maximum sustained winds at 110 kph (70 mph), but was slowing as it passed between Haiti and Jamaica, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. Elsa has been downgraded to a tropical storm from a hurricane.

Early on Saturday, Dominican officials evacuated people living near rivers and creeks in coastal Barahona province severe flood warnings.