Prime Minister Stephenson King declared a state of emergency on the tourist island, saying whole sections of the road network had vanished in landslides, and describing scenes of mayhem in the cut-off towns of Soufriere and Vieux Fort.

"We have 12 confirmed dead... unfortunately there are still people who are buried," Tourism Minister Allen Chastanet said on local radio.

Tomas, which struck Saint Lucia as a category one hurricane on Saturday packing winds of 150 kilometers (90 miles) per hour, has since weakened to a tropical storm, but is expected to strengthen again and hit Haiti this weekend.

The island, which has a population of some 170,000, faces massive economic damages from the disaster -- King said up to 100 million dollars -- as apart from tourism it is almost completely reliant on its banana exports.

Many island communities were still without power and cut off after Tomas downed trees and ripped the roofs of schools and at least one hospital.

"From the air, the southern town of Vieux Fort appeared to have received the brunt of Tomas's fury," King said, adding that several people there were still unaccounted for.

"We will have to go into this area which was still blocked by landslides and virtually inaccessible to carry out a more detailed account of the damage," he said.

The town of Soufriere "is devastated, everyone is locked in and no one can leave or get in by road or by phone, so that there are persons who need help but cannot be reached."

The situation in Soufriere "is desperate," said Harold Dalson, who represents the city in parliament.

"We have had hurricanes in the past but none to match that one, both in terms of physical damage and the number of deaths," said Dalson.

The "declaration of emergency" immediately triggers a regional and international appeal for help, King said.

Nearby St. Vincent and the Grenadines also suffered from Tomas. The storm blew off rooves, knocked down trees and seriously damaged some 1,200 homes.

The main road in the town of Hopewell "has completely collapsed, having succumbed to the impact of the over-flowing river," the country's embassy in Washington said.

Saint Lucia, part of the Lesser Antilles in the east of the Caribbean Sea became independent from Britain in 1979 but although it now has its own government it still recognizes Queen Elizabeth II as head of state.

Communications Minister Guy Joseph said the damage was "worse than we could think of." Authorities said schools would remain closed for the rest of the week, although the international airport reopened Tuesday.

Tomas weakened to a tropical storm after leaving Saint Lucia at the weekend, but was set to strengthen as it takes aim on Haiti, still recovering from a devastating January earthquake and struggling to halt a cholera outbreak.

At 1500 GMT Tuesday the center of Tomas was located 570 kilometers (355 miles) south of the Haitian capital Port-Au-Prince, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center reported.

"Strengthening is forecast during the next 48 hours, and Tomas could regain hurricane strength on Wednesday," the NHC warned.

Tomas could pose "a significant threat" to Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic, the NHC said.

The center of Tomas is forecasted to make landfall near Les Cayes in Haiti, cross the country towards the Turks and Caicos islands, and eventually head to the open Atlantic.

The storm is expected to dump heavy rain over makeshift Hispaniola, shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic, as well as parts of Jamaica and Cuba.

Tomas poses a special risk to the 1.3 million Haitians living in tent city camps set up after January's devastating earthquake.

Masses of people are still huddled in precarious tent cities following the 7.0 magnitude January 12 earthquake that flattened much of the capital, killing more than 250,000 people.

UN peacekeepers in Haiti "are setting up an emergency plan designed to cope with Hurricane Tomas, which ... could affect up to half a million people," UN spokeswoman Corinne Momal-Vanian told journalists in Geneva.

Some quake victims have been evacuated from camps in the Port-au-Prince area, while emergency food supplies for 1.1 million people as well as shelter and medical supplies were being stocked, Momal-Vanian said.

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