According to local media reports, at least 13 people have been killed in flooding in the Dominican Republic following torrential rains dumped by Tropical Storm Noel.

The deaths were reported in the Dominican capital Santo Domingo, and along the south coast.

It is feared the death toll will rise, with several others reported missing.

The storm was expected to pour 25-50cm (10-20in) of rain on the Dominican Republic and neighboring Haiti, the US National Hurricane Center said.

By early Monday evening (2100 GMT) the centre of the storm had passed and was heading north-west, past the eastern tip of Cuba towards the Bahamas.

However, on the island of Hispaniola, divided between the Dominican Republic and Haiti, rain continued to fall forcing river levels to rise.

Several bridges were reported to have collapsed, cutting off communities.

Hundreds of people were being evacuated, amid fears of flash floods and landslides, the Dominican authorities said.

The head of the Dominican National Emergency Committee, retired General Luis Luna Paulino, said 13 deaths had been confirmed.

He told Reuters there was a report of a family being buried when their house collapsed, and another of a family in a car killed by a falling wall.

The newspaper Diario Libre said on its website that farmers had suffered big losses and that numerous areas had lost power.