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Caribbean expecting heavy rain

YABUCOA, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands braced for heavy rains and strong winds today as remnants of the new season’s first hurricane provided an initial test of how far they’ve recovered from last year’s devastating storms.

Tropical Storm Beryl disintegrated after rushing over Dominica and into the eastern Caribbean, but the U.S. National Hurricane Center said the remnants still could bring 2 to 3 inches of rain pounding down on homes still damaged by September’s Hurricane Maria. Forecasters said this could unleash flooding and landslides in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Outages were already reported across Puerto Rico early today as Gov. Ricardo Rossello urged people without sturdy roofs to move in with relatives or go to one of 14 government shelters that have opened.

Some 60,000 people in the U.S. territory still have only tarps for roofs blown off by Maria, and more than 1,500 customers are still without power more than nine months after the storm.

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