Tropical Storm Noel Kills 20

Tropical Storm Noel slammed into the Dominican Republic today with torrential rain and mudslides, leaving 20 people dead and another 20 missing. Noel was expected to drop as much as 20 inches of rain on Hispaniola, the island shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic, before heading northwest toward the Bahamas and Cuba, CNN reports.

Schools and shops were closed, and many towns were cut off by impassable and downed power lines. No deaths were reported in Haiti, where floods earlier this month killed at least 37 and sent more than 4,000 people to shelters. (More weather stories.)