a second-stage alert on September 21, and cleared debris from floodwall openings. Impact Caribbean Sea As a weak tropical depression, the storm brought of rainfall to portions of the Leeward Islands, including St. Kitts and St. Martin. More minor amounts of precipitation fell over the northernmost islands, and winds were light in these areas. Despite being only a tropical storm while passing by Puerto Rico, Eloise produced extreme amounts of rainfall on the island, peaking at in Dos Bocas. Other totals of were common. The heavy rains resulted in severe flash flooding which killed 34 people, mostly from drownings, and left $60 million in damages. Several hundred people were injured, and the storm forced over 6,000 residents from their homes. Dozens of towns and villages were flooded, though Utuado, with a population of 35,000 at the time, was hit the hardest. The situation in that town was described as a "total disaster"; four housing developments were under water, and dozens of vehicles were washed away. The flood waters submerged thousands of miles of roads and put several bridges out-of-service. As the storm proceeded westward, it dropped heavy rainfall throughout eastern and southern Hispaniola. Widespread flooding impacted Haiti and the Dominican Republic, leaving a total of 25 people dead. Although the most intense winds remained offshore, a gust of was recorded at Cape Engaño. Puerto Plata on the northern coast of the Dominican Republic was also battered by high winds and heavy rain. Following the storm, electricity was turned off due to the danger of electrocutions. Despite the storm's effects across Hispaniola and Puerto Rico, no monetary damage totals are available. Rain and wind from the storm affected the southern Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, and the northern Yucatan Peninsula. Since the storm was primarily weak while passing by these areas, no significant damage was reported. Eloise brought torrential rainfall and winds of to the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in southeastern Cuba, inflicting $65,000 in damage. Personnel on the base were moved to designated hurricane shelters in advance of the storm. Florida Eloise came ashore along the coast of northern Florida as a Category 3 storm producing winds of with gusts that reached 155 mph (249 km/h). Sustained winds were likely higher, but due to the sparsity of recording stations, few official records exist. The winds in the area were reportedly the strongest of the century. Hurricane-force winds occurred from