DR1 Daily News - Dominican Republic

In the Dominican Republic, there is a National Office of Meteorology (Onamet) that falls under the Ministry of Public Works. Now the Chamber of Deputies approved on Tuesday, 30 May 2023, a bill that creates the Dominican Institute of Meteorology (Indomet) to replace Onamet.

Deputy Gilberto Balbuena (PRM-Santo Domingo province) submitted the bill. An earlier initiative to the same sense had been studied in Congress in 2021 submitted by Felix Bautista (FP-San Juan de la Maguana). He had proposed Indomet fall under the Ministry of Environment.

At the time, the long-standing director of Onamet, Gloria Ceballos expressed her support in the understanding that the meteorological service needs a legal framework to strengthen weather services.

Indomet would be a specialized governing body and would be attached to the Ministry of the Presidency. It would be responsible for all...