Storms unleash heavy rains, wind in Caribbean; flash floods possible

Heavy rains, winds, across Caribbean

ROAD TOWN, British Virgin Islands — Schools and government offices in the British Virgin Islands are closed due to heavy rains from a cluster of thunderstorms that threaten to form a tropical depression.

A government statement warns of possible flash floods. The system is traveling northwest and could also bring flooding to the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

A separate system in the eastern Caribbean toppled power lines, destroyed shacks and flooded businesses Monday.

High winds stripped roofs from several homes in Trinidad and in Barbados, where authorities said a police station was flooded and five patrol cars were damaged.

Trinidad police said Tuesday that the storm uprooted a massive silk cotton tree estimated to be 200 years old.