Tropical Storm Franklin Makes Landfall, Dumping Heavy Rain On Haiti And The Dominican Republic

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — Tropical Storm Franklin has made landfall on the island of Hispaniola amid warnings of landslides and heavy flooding in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

The storm is expected to swirl above the island shared by both nations for most of Wednesday.

Forecasters say Franklin could dump up to 12 inches (30 centimeters) of rain, with as much as 16 inches for Hispaniola’s central region.

Officials are most concerned about the storm’s impact in Haiti, which is vulnerable to catastrophic flooding because of severe erosion from deforestation.