Tropical Storm Elsa, which has weakened from the first hurricane of the season, has made landfall on the west coast of Florida, unleashing rain and flooding, writes BBC.

Over 20,000 Florida residents are without power, and warnings are in effect for millions in the region.

Elsa battered Cuba on Monday with mudslides and floods.

Earlier it tore across the Dominican Republic and St Lucia, killing at least three people and damaging hundreds of buildings.

After passing across Florida, Elsa is expected to hit the US states of Georgia and South Carolina.

Elsa became the first hurricane of the Atlantic season on Friday before weakening to a tropical storm. After leaving Cuba, it briefly regained hurricane force over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, but was then downgraded again as it approached the Florida coast.