Toll reaches 43 as Noel rages across Caribbean

It left at least 30 people dead and 15 reported missing in the Dominican Republic, and threatened to cause more floods and mudslides across the region, already drenched by weeks of rainfall.

The National Emergency Committee said nearly 20,000 people had to evacuate their homes across the country.

In Haiti, an AFP reporter in the capital city Port-au-Prince witnessed four deaths, including a 14-year old girl and her mother who were killed when an uprooted tree crushed their house.

Authorities in the impoverished and vulnerable Caribbean nation reported another nine deaths, 11 injuries and 3,000 people evacuated from their homes across the country.

Heavy rain swept away and destroyed homes in three departments, said Marie Alta Jean Baptiste, head of the country8217;s civil protection agency.

The storm caused authorities in the Dominican Republic and Haiti to shut down airports.

Haitian Prime Minister Jacques-Edouard Alexis said USD 1.5 million had been set aside to assist storm victims.

Dominican President Leonel Fernandez convened an emergency cabinet meeting and announced a three million dollar relief package for storm victims.