DR1 Daily News - Monday, 25 September 2017

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DR meets with China foreign minister in New York
President Medina tours areas affected in the east and northeast
Yuna River overflows, traffic restored on Samana-SD highway
Flooding in Montecristi
Luis Carvajal and Domingo Abreu on flooding waters
Luz y Fuerza power service restored in Samana
New Jersey people donate to improve fire service in Boca Chica
Sahara Dust cloud headed for Dominican Republic
Merengue dancing at Barceló Santo Domingo
Tribute to Frank Sinatra
Pianist Jie Chen and the National Symphony Orchestra concert
The Addams Family at the Studio Theater of Acrópolis Center



DR meets with China foreign minister in New York
The Ministry of Foreign Relations (Mirex) reported that Foreign Minister Miguel Vargas attended a meeting with Latin American and Caribbean countries organized by the mission of People’s Republic of China officers during the 72nd United Nations General Assembly in New York City. The meeting was chaired by China’s foreign minister Wang Yi and Dominican foreign minister Miguel Vargas Maldonado.

The DR participated as part of the Quartet of Foreign Ministers of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), of which the Dominican Republic is a member. The CELAC quartet includes the foreign ministers of Guyana, Ecuador, El Salvador and Dominican Republic.

The CELAC quartet also met on Friday, 22 September 2017, with South Korea foreign minister Kang Kyung-wha. Vargas expressed his appreciation for South Korea’s support for the Dominican Republic’s request for the non-permanent seat in the United Nations for 2019-2020. Vargas said that he has also received the support of Russia, Spain, Turkey and Azerbaijan. Vargas said the DR also has the backing of 33 member states of the UN regional group, the Latin American and Caribbean Group (Grulac).

http://www.mirex.gob.do/medios/noti...-y-cooperacion-con-america-latina-y-el-caribe


President Medina tours areas affected in the east and northeast
President Danilo Medina spent the weekend visiting areas affected by Hurricane Maria. He was in the east and northeast, where flooding of rivers and streams affected dozens of communities. Millions of people had to leave their homes.

Medina traveled to Miches in El Seibo province in the east. Damages are being assessed. He was also in Samaná, María Trinidad Sánchez (Salcedo) and Espaillat (Moca) in the northeast. He visited the Boba and Nagua areas that were affected by the rain and wind bands brought by Hurricane Maria.

There was also flooding in Hato Mayor that received the most rain during the passing of Hurricane Maria, 355.8 mm. Sabana de la Mar was second with 223.9 mm and Santiago third with 217.8.

Heavy equipment and crews of the Ministry of Public Works worked around the clock in these communities to clear roads and streets of debris and garbage as a result of the flooding.

The Emergency Operations Center (COE) had maintained the municipalities of Castañuela, Guayubín and Hatillo Palma in Montecristi under red alert, likewise the municipalities of Villa Riva, Hostos and Arenoso in Duarte province under red alert as of 24 September 2017 at 6pm. Yellow alert was issued for Santiago, Valverde, Espaillat (Moc), María Trinidad Sánchez (Nagua), Samaná, Sánchez Ramírez (Cotuí), Monte Plata, Hato Mayor, San Pedro de Macorís, El Seibo. Green alert was issued for Puerto Plata, La Altagracia, Hermanas Mirabal, San Juan de la Maguana, Dajabón, Santiago Rodríguez, Santo Domingo province, National District, La Vega, Monseñor Nouel and Azua.

https://presidencia.gob.do/noticias...por-huracan-maria-escucha-la-gente-e-instruye
http://eldia.com.do/obras-publicas-interviene-miches-y-barrios-de-san-francisco-de-macoris/
https://www.diariolibre.com/noticia...adas-tras-el-paso-del-huracan-maria-EA8233446
https://www.diariolibre.com/noticia...entan-numero-de-desplazados-y-danos-MY8230428
http://www.mopc.gob.do/noticias/mop...s-en-regiones-afectadas-por-el-huracán-maría/
http://www.coe.gob.do


Yuna River overflows, traffic restored on Samana-SD highway
The Ministry of Public Works reports that traffic is again open along the Autopistas del Nordeste – Juan Pablo II Highway, the tollway from Santo Domingo to Samana.

The Yuna River flooding after Hurricane Maria had interrupted traffic on the Santo Domingo-Samana highway, with the most flooding occurring near Guaraguao, at the third toll station (from Santo Domingo). Flooding has affected 10 communities, with the most flooding in Arenoso.

The Consorcio Autopistas del Nordeste y Boulevard Turístico del Atlántico had announced that the road was closed from La Reforma to Rincón de Molinillos (the northernmost toll) due to the flooding of Yuna River. Some 300 vehicles that were traveling in both directions were stuck on the road. On intense rain days, traveling on this road should be avoided.

The road was closed from Guerra to Monte Plata, further to the south.
https://www.listindiario.com/la-rep...-e-imposibilita-transito-santo-domingo-samana


Flooding in Montecristi
The mayor of Castañuelas, Moreno Arias, insisted that the construction of the Guayubín Dam and dikes along the Yaque River could be the solution to the periodic flooding of the Yaque del Norte River. The flooding, due to intense rains from Irma and Maria, has seriously affected the communities of Guayubín, Palo Verde, Castañuelas and farmland throughout the area.

The flooding of the Yaque del Norte River is worsened when the government releases water from the Tavera Dam into the Yaque del Norte to prevent the dam’s failure during high rainfall events. Arias said if nothing is done to control the flooding, these towns will disappear.

https://www.listindiario.com/la-rep...risti-abogan-por-la-construccion-de-una-presa


Luis Carvajal and Domingo Abreu on flooding waters
Environmentalists Luis Carvajal and Domingo Abreu blame the flooding of the rivers in part on the extraction of gravel for construction projects.

Carvajal said the flooding will continue because the river basins are deteriorated and any drop of water turns these rivers and streams into an open faucet for flood waters. Furthermore, he said barrios have been built on vulnerable areas in the flood plains of rivers and streams.

Carvajal, environmental coordinator for the state UASD university, said the country needs a land use plan. This would establish the logistics for managing the present infrastructure and mitigate disasters in each area.

He said if the country is to receive 600 mm of water, there will be serious flooding. “The susceptibility to flooding is acute in our society because most communities are not prepared for these types of natural disasters,” he stated.

Abreu says that the constant flooding affecting communities is also due to the sewage systems not receiving maintenance to maintain proper drainage and cities streets are overwhelmed with uncollected garbage that clogs up the sewers. He said the flooding is normal due to the amount of rains that have fallen, worsened by the passing of Hurricane Maria when already the land was saturated from Irma. He stressed that the elimination of vegetation in riparian zones is primarily due the massive extraction of aggregates for construction projects.

Carvajal said much of the flooding has affected houses in areas of flood plains of rivers, including areas in Haina, San Francisco de Macorís and La Vega. He said there is need for more citizen education so people can organize and be prepared for hurricanes and tropical storms.

http://hoy.com.do/inundaciones-son-causa-de-extraccion-de-agregados-a-rios/


Luz y Fuerza power service restored in Samana
The private power utility Luz y Fuerza reported the restoring of power service to their clients in Las Terrenas and las Galeras. The area was affected by the strong rain and wind bands by Hurricane Maria. The company reported that service was fully restored in las Terrenas in less than 13 hours.

Luz y Fuerza said that the power outage was only for five hours in Las Terrenas, and said this was caused by interruptions by the state-operated Interconnected National Electric System (SENI).

In the case of Las Galeras, another area served by Luz y Fuerza, the impact of the storm was greater. Service was restored 12 hours after the passing of the Hurricane.

The company said that power outages in the cases of hurricanes Irma and Maria were due to preventive measures taken by the company.

An assessment of damages caused by Irma in Las Terrenas revealed that 12 light posts and more than 30 medium-tension lines were damaged by falling trees, and 150 secondary lines were on the ground. In Las Galeras, three light posts were affected and 20 sections of medium-tension lines were damaged, in addition to around 100 secondary services affected.

Luz y Fuerza said that crews were out immediately after the storms to restore the power service to the towns with a priority given to tourist communities of Las Terrenas and Las Galeras, followed by the communities in the hills of Samaná and El Limón, Loma Atravesada and Las Guásumas where within 36 hours all circuits had been restored.

https://elnuevodiario.com.do/luz-fu...-servicio-electrico-las-terrenas-las-galeras/


New Jersey people donate to improve fire service in Boca Chica
Ralph Eusebio, a Hoboken, New Jersey, USA city firefighter for 14 years, and his friend and local businessman Joe Branco collected and donated over a US$1 million worth of supplies and equipment to the Boca Chica fire station. The donation followed after Eusebio and Branco went on vacation to Boca Chica in 2012 to visit Eusebio’s father who had retired to the town and become a volunteer firefighter.

During the trip they noticed how the local firefighters were working without basic equipment. Eusebio realized that in Hoboken they had lots of the needed stuff lying around and figured he could ask his fellow firefighters at other departments for donations of equipment they were no longer using. Equipment would be gathered from Hoboken, Jersey City, North Hudson and Staten Island and stored in Branco’s garage.

A fundraiser was organized through the Hoboken Rotary and Jersey City Rotary to help get a 20-foot shipping container filled with the collected equipment sent over.

In recognition and gratitude, the mayor of Boca Chica named 18 July 2017, the day the donation arrived as Hoboken Firefighter Day in Boca Chica.

http://hudsonreporter.com/view/full...oken-firefighters-?instance=hoboken_top_story


Sahara Dust cloud headed for Dominican Republic
The National Weather Office (Onamet) has reported that rain showers will continue nationwide. But the bigger weather news is that the hot days are on their way. In the same way that hurricanes move west from Africa, a gigantic cloud of Sahara sand, dirt and dust is headed our way, says meteorologist Jean Suriel.

The cloud is over the Atlantic Ocean making its way to the Caribbean and expected to enter the Dominican atmosphere by this coming Tuesday, 26 September, and remain over Dominican skies for the following give days.

On the positive side the Sahara Dust reduces the possibility of the formation of tropical storms in the Atlantic and rainstorms and the nutrient-rich dust is considered beneficial for farming. The mineral dust fertilizes aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Studies have shown that the dust is rich in phosphorus, and also contains potassium and calcium.

On the negative side, the Sahara dust clouds encourage of the formation of algae in the oceans, and bring high temperatures, respiratory, eye and skin allergies, in addition to dry skin and cracked lips.

http://elcaribe.com.do/2017/09/24/nube-gigante-polvo-del-sahara-viene-pais/


Merengue dancing at Barceló Santo Domingo
Jackeline Estévez, Charlie Rodríguez and Deivy Jiménez are together for the show “Romantico y Bailable,” a concert at the Barceló Santo Domingo’s Salon la Mancha on Friday, 29 September 2017. There is an area for dancing. Tickets are for sale online at Ticketexpress.com.do for RD$1,500 and RD$2,000 (VIP).


Tribute to Frank Sinatra
A selection of some of the best remembered songs recorded by the legendary Frank Sinatra will be performed on Friday, 29 September 2017, beginning at 9pm, at the Hard Rock Live stage at Blue Mall. The singers are Frank Ceara, Nathalie Hazim, Hector Anibal, Roger Zayas, José Guillermo Cortinez among others.

Tickets are for sale at the Blue Mall or online at Uepa Tickets for RD$2,350-RD$1,450 plus service charge.


Pianist Jie Chen and the National Symphony Orchestra concert
The National Symphony Orchestra 2017 Concerts Season continues at the National Theater with the performance on Wednesday, 4 October 2017 at 8:30pm of pianist Jie Chen and orchestra conducted by Maestro José Antonio Molina.

Chen is a student of the Shanghai Music Conservatory and the Curtis Music Institute in Philadelphia, USA. She is a winner of numerous awards, including the Arthur Rubinstein Piano Contest and bronze medal at the XV Concurso Internacional de Piano de Santander “Paloma O’Shea.” She will play Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18, accompanied by the orchestra.

The National Symphony Orchestra concert will end with the orchestra playing Russian Modest Mussorgsky's most imaginative and frequently performed work, the cycle of piano pieces describing paintings in sound called “Pictures at an Exhibition.”

http://www.sinfonia.org.do/aviso-ga...-conciertos-2017-orquesta-sinfonica-nacional/


The Addams Family at the Studio Theater of Acrópolis Center
The musical, The Addams Family is opening the new Broadway and Off-Broadway-style theater at the Acropolis Center on Av. Winston Churchill. The show will be presented the weekends of 10-12 November 2017, 17-19 November, 24-26 November 2017. Tickets are for sale for RD$1,600. Showings are at 8:30pm on Fridays and Saturdays and at 6:30pm on Sundays. Tickets are for sale online at ticketexpress.com.do

http://www.ticketexpress.com.do/ShowEvent.aspx?ID=1865
 
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