Haiti raises death toll from storm Laura to 31

Thirty-one deaths in Haiti are now blamed on Laura, which blasted the country as a tropical storm last weekend before turning into a powerful hurricane that hit Louisiana, officials said Friday.

Raising the toll in Haiti by 10, the country’s civil protection service said another eight people are missing and eight more were injured as the storm hit the Caribbean island of Hispaniola.

In neighboring Dominican Republic, four people were killed by the storm.

Haiti said more than 6,000 homes in this impoverished country were flooded.

After sweeping through the Caribbean, Laura grew into a powerful Category 4 hurricane — the second-highest level — as it moved across the Gulf of Mexico.

It struck Louisiana early Thursday and is blamed for six deaths there but caused much less damage than expected. (AFP)