© Thais Llorca/EPAResidents of Fajardo, Puerto Rico, faced flooded streets Wednesday after heavy rains from "Emily," the fifth tropical storm of the hurricane season in Atlantic.
Flooding feared; in Haiti, 630,000 people are still without shelter after 2010 quakePort-Au-Prince, Haiti - Tropical Storm Emily was nearing the Caribbean island of Hispaniola Wednesday and could strengthen if it makes it through the island's mountainous terrain, the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said.
A "steady shield of rain" should reach Hispaniola, which is shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti, around noon and the rainfall should worsen by late afternoon, said John Dlugoenski, senior meteorologist with Accuweather.com.
At 2 p.m. ET, Emily was about 120 miles south-southwest of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph, the hurricane center stated.
"On the forecast track, the center of Emily will move very near or over Cabo Beata in the Dominican Republic late today," the center added, and "over Haiti tonight and into the southeastern Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands on Thursday."
"Some restrengthening is possible after the center moves away from Hispaniola," the center stated.
Comment: While not highly dramatic footage, weather changes are progressing.