Originally posted by the Voice of America. Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America, a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in the public domain. Tropical Storm Nate Prompts Hurricane Warnings in US by VOA News WASHINGTON -- Hurricane and storm surge warnings have been posted for parts of the northern U.S. Gulf Coast amid a strengthening Tropical Storm Nate, which is moving quickly toward a likely U.S. landfall after claiming at least 20 lives across Central America. Nate gained strength over the northwestern Caribbean Sea, prompting the National Hurricane Center in Miami to issue the warnings. The storm was expected to move into the southern Gulf of Mexico late Friday and approach the northern Gulf Coast on Saturday, before moving near or over the northern Gulf on Saturday night or Sunday. Nate was expected to reach the northeastern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, which separates the Gulf of Mexico from the Caribbean Sea, on Friday. "Strengthening is forecast during the next couple of days, and Nate is expected to become a hurricane by the time it reaches the northern Gulf of Mexico," the NHC said. At least 11 people were killed in Nicaragua and seven others were reported missing as thousands evacuated homes due to flooding, Vice President Rosario Murillo said. Two children were among the eight people killed in heavy rains in Costa Rica, according to emergency officials. In Honduras, emergency officials said two youths drowned due to the sudden swell of a river and a man was killed in a mudslide in El Salvador. In the U.S., residents in parts of Louisiana's coastal St. Bernard Parish, east of New Orleans, have been ordered to evacuate as the state prepares for Nate. A state of emergency was declared for 29 Florida counties, Mississippi's six southernmost counties and New Orleans, where levees were breached during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Even as the threat of Nate draws near, parts of the U.S. and its territories are struggling to recover from previous storms. Hurricane Maria Vice President Mike Pence traveled Friday to St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, which was devastated by Hurricanes Maria and Irma. Pence surveyed the damage from an aircraft and met with citizens whose lives were upended by the severe weather. Pence met with Governor Kenneth Mapp, who praised Donald Trump's administration's relief efforts. "There is no country that responds to disasters like the United States of America," Mapp said. He added the federal government has disaster recovery operations "down to a science." Mapp said recovery efforts on St. Croix are progressing and expected schools to reopen Tuesday. Pence will visit Puerto Rico later Friday to survey the extensive damage caused by Maria. He will receive a briefing from federal officials on rebuilding efforts, meet with members of the community and participate in a prayer service. On Thursday, a group of Puerto Ricans who arrived in Florida on Thursday met with Pence. Everlinda Burgos, who flew into Orlando from her home in Naranjito, told Pence, "Don't go to San Juan. Go inside the country like where I live." Burgos told Pence that Trump went to "another part" earlier this week. But she said the vice president should "go to the center" on Friday "because that's where the disaster is." Some two weeks after the catastrophic Category 5 Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, the U.S. territory is still reeling from its devastating effects. Governor Ricardo Rossello said just 8.6 percent of Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority clients have had their power restored; 365 of 1,619 telecommunication towers have been repaired, but landlines are functioning at 100 percent. The government's hope is to have the power back on for a quarter of the island within a month's time, and for the entire territory of 3.4 million people by March. While 63.3 percent of the San Juan metropolitan region has safe drinking water, just 14 percent in the northern part of the island and 30 percent in the west region have such access. As part of his daily news briefing on recovery efforts, the governor reported that 76 percent of island gas stations were open and 70 percent of the supermarkets reported open. Hurricane Irma The Florida Keys, devastated by Hurricane Irma last month, have reopened just in time for prime tourist season. The keys, which stretch about 200 kilometers (124 miles) off Florida's southern tip, were closed after Irma made landfall on Sept. 10 as a Category 4 storm. Tourism-related jobs account for about 50 percent of the workforce in the area. Meanwhile, the last of 43 shelters used for Hurricane Irma evacuees closed in Miami-Dade County on Wednesday. Hurricane Harvey Texas lawmakers, including Governor Greg Abbott, urged Congress to approve an additional $18.7 billion in funding for relief and recovery efforts from Hurricane Harvey, which damaged or destroyed thousands of homes after coming ashore as a Category 4 storm. The request came a day after the Trump administration sent Congress a proposal for $29 billion in disaster aid to Puerto Rico, Florida, Texas and Louisiana in the aftermath of the recent storms. Wayne Lee and Smita Nordwall contributed to this report.