TS Kirk causes power outages, heavy flooding in Caribbean

Tropical Storm Kirk is causing power outages and heavy flooding as it passes through the eastern Caribbean.

Authorities in Barbados say they helped rescue several people from a flooded home, and school was cancelled in the nearby islands of Dominica, Guadeloupe and Martinique.

A tropical storm warning is in effect for St. Lucia and a tropical storm watch for St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Friday that up to 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain could fall in some parts of Martinique and Dominica. Meteorologists warned of flash floods and mudslides.

Kirk had maximum sustained winds of 50 mph (85 kph) and was located about 140 miles (225 kilometers) west-southwest of St. Lucia. It was moving west at 12 mph (19 kph).