At a Glance

The deaths occurred in St. Lucia and the Dominican Republic.At least 62 homes collapsed in Barbados.The Cuban government evacuated 180,000 coastal residents of the island's southern region.An emergency declaration for the state of Florida was approved by President Joe Biden.

After killing at least three people and leaving a trail of damage in the Caribbean, Tropical Storm Elsa swept over western Cuba with strong rain and winds Monday.

The storm is likely to in the next day or two.

Elsa's center made landfall around 2 p.m. EDT Monday in Ciénaga de Zapata National Park, about 80 miles southeast of Havana. It was moving over mainly rural areas.

In St. Lucia, the storm killed one person, the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency said. In the Dominican Republic, a 15-year-old boy and a 75-year-old woman died in separate events after walls collapsed on them, according to the Emergency Operations Center.

(MORE: How Florida Is PreparingTrack Elsa)

Elsa, the first Atlantic hurricane of the season, hit Barbados as a Category 1 storm and left more than 1,100 people with damaged houses, including 62 homes that collapsed. The government promised to find and fund temporary housing to avoid clustering people in shelters amid the pandemic.

In advance of the storm in Cuba, the government opened shelters and evacuated 180,000 people along the southern part of the island. Some of those provinces have reported a high number of COVID-19 infections, raising concerns that the storm could force large groups of people to seek shelter together.

The storm also downed trees in Haiti, injuring at least three people, according to the country's Civil Protection Agency. The nation is very vulnerable to landslides and flooding because of widespread deforestation and erosion.

Antony Exilien secures the roof of his house in response to Tropical Storm Elsa, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Saturday, July 3, 2021.

(AP Photo/Joseph Odelyn)

In Florida, President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration, which will give the state federal resources to prepare for and respond to the impacts of the storm.

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