Heavy rain over Eastern and Southern parts of the country from Monday to Wednesday this week resulted in swollen rivers and flooding of low lying areas in provinces of Altagracia, San Pedro de Macoris, La Romana, and Monte Plata. This is a mostly flat, slightly undulating region but is still susceptible to landslides. Apart from some parts of the province of Monte Plata, these were areas that had not suffered during the recent series of storms and flooding.
The main road between major towns of Higuey and La Romana were impassable at one point and several rural communities in affected provinces were also cut off by rising rivers and flooded roadways, and the collapse of bridges/approaches in two instances.
Emergency authorities (COE) carried out preventive evacuations from vulnerable areas starting on Tuesday. Some 20 "barrios", mostly in the towns of La Romana, San Pedro de Macoris and Higuey were reported to have been flooded to some degree.
Although there was also widespread street flooding in Santo Domingo and other towns due to poor drainage, no major damage to facilities or services has been reported as of Thursday morning.
In terms of impact, COE reported the following figures as of Wednesday evening:
| People in official shelters |
404
|
| People"displaced" and sheltering with friends and family |
5,691
|
| Total people temporarily displaced |
6,095
|
| No. of homes affected by floodwaters: |
1,294
|
| No. of homes severely affected: |
5
|
| No. of homes destroyed: | |
| Total homes affected: |
1,299
|
National authorities and emergency services (Civil Defense, Plan Social de la Presidencia, Comedores Económicos, Red Cross) have been providing food rations and other items to the affected population and the situation is deemed to be under control. Fortunately the areas affected by the storms of earlier this month and which remain highly vulnerable due to ground saturation were largely spared this time.
However, we will continue to monitor the situation closely through the usual channels.