SAMANA, Dominican Republic -- After leaving thousands of residents of the Dominican Republic clinging to the rooftops of their flooded homes, Jeanne has been downgraded to a tropical depression.

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But forecasters expect the storm to strengthen somewhat as it moves over water.

The storm hit the island Thursday as a hurricane but weakened as it slowly moved across the island of Hispaniola, which encompasses both the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The slow-moving storm has also left six people dead, including a motorcycle rider reportedly hurled into a pole by a gusting gale.

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Images: Jeanne Hits Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic

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Jeanne hovered over the country's north coast for some 10 hours Thursday night, pounding the area with horizontal sheets of rain, tearing down roofs and power lines and toppling concrete walls.

Emergency officials say helicopters are being sent to rescue the trapped residents of a fishing town that is best known as the birthplace of baseball star Sammy Sosa.

Jeanne hit with 80 mph winds but has dipped to 35 mph. Forecasters say the storm could regain strength in the next day as it moves toward the Bahamas.

From there, they say, it could hit the United States anywhere from Florida to South Carolina.

Rain is still falling in Puerto Rico, where the storm hit earlier in the week -- and where more than 4 million residents remain without power or water.

At 5 p.m. EDT, the center of Tropical Depression Jeanne was located near latitude 20.2 north, longitude 71.8 west. It's located just north of the coast of Hispaniola and about 100 miles south-southwest of Grand Turk Island.

Jeanne is moving west-northwest at about 9 mph, and a turn toward the northwest is expected in the next 24 hours.

The head of the National Hurricane Center in Miami said it's impossible to say if Jeanne will move up the Florida coast or "continue more westward" over the state. He said residents "need to monitor it very carefully."

Jeanne is the 10th named storm to form in the Atlantic this tropical storm season, which began June 1. Four have hit Florida.

While residents are still tallying the damage from Hurricane Ivan, Hurricanes Charley and Frances caused up to $20 billion in damage to Florida and killed at least 50 people when they struck the state. Tropical Storm Bonnie caused minimal damage when it struck the Panhandle.

Tropical Storm Karl Cruising Off Africa

Tropical Storm Karl is gaining power.

The 11th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season now has wind near 65 mph. Forecasters expect the storm to become a hurricane in the next 24 hours.

Karl is inching northwest off Africa's coast at about 14 mph and poses no immediate threat to land.

At 5 p.m. EDT, the center of the storm was located at latitude 13.4 north, longitude 36.4 west, or about 850 miles west-southwest of the Cape Verde Islands