At least 16 reported dead from heavy rains in Hispaniola

Days of torrential rainfall over northwest Haiti and neighboring Dominican Republic have killed some 16 people, according to civil protection and local media reports on Wednesday.

At least 12 people were killed in northern Haiti as floods hit communities in Port-de-Paix, Saint-Louis du Nord and Anse-a-Foleur, local newspaper Le Nouvelliste reported.

In the Dominican Republic, which shares the Caribbean island of Hispaniola with Haiti, local outlet Listin Diario reported that four people had died, some swept away by swollen rivers, while an infant girl was killed in her home when a wall collapsed on her.

Dominican authorities said on Monday that more than 30,000 people were forced to evacuate their homes, and that the rains were expected to strengthen again this weekend.

In the nearby US territory of Puerto Rico, authorities urged residents to avoid flooded highways as rain is expected to continue into the afternoon.

Just days earlier, a stampede at northern Haiti's Laferriere Citadel, a UNESCO World Heritage site, killed 25 people after people began forcing their way onto the site during an annual event as it started to rain.