Some residents remain homeless from earlier storms

More than 10,000 people were evacuated from southwestern areas as the rare, out-of-season Tropical Storm Odette moved in on Saturday.

Officials were particularly concerned as the storm moved northwards to areas badly hit from heavy rains three weeks ago that left at least seven dead.

The warning covers most of Hispaniola island, which is shared with Haiti.

Dominican officials were helping residents, particularly those living next to river banks, to leave their homes.

Some were still homeless after being evacuated three weeks ago - including 15 families who had sought refuge under a bridge in northern Santiago city.

"The civil defence came early this morning just to tell us that we have to leave this place, but without giving us any solution to our problem," said Octavio Antonio Luna, who sat amid his salvaged household goods.

Bus crash

The floodgates of three almost full northern dams were opened to prevent a flood that could destroy a number of communities.

The Dominican meteorological service recorded up to five inches (13 cms) of rain on Saturday afternoon.

Officials said 11 people suffered minor injuries when a bus slid on a road and crashed in the south of the island.

The storm was expected to weaken and then pick up strength as it moved north across the mountainous island on Sunday.

"The situation is very worrying because the ground in the north and northeast was already saturated... which increases the dangers of flooding," said Jose Luis German of the National Emergency Commission.

More than 2,000 people were evacuated in the storms three weeks ago that caused landslides and flash floods.