DR1 Daily News - Dominican Republic

President Luis Abinader toured the northeast to see for himself the damages caused by very heavy rains over an extended period of time over the Independence Day long weekend. Residents in the town of Gaspar Hernandez in Espaillat province were the most impacted. The town lies between Cabarete and Rio San Juan.

The entire area experienced urban flooding, but in Gaspar Hernandez, it was catastrophic. Cars and small vehicles were swept away.

Previous alerts by the Center for Emergency Operations did not really prepare the region for the dowsing that came with these rains. The newly installed Puerto Plata weather radar did not make a difference in early warnings.

The Dominican Red Cross issued their Bulletin #7 on Saturday, and they reported that more than 3,200 houses and commercial establishments had been affected by the flood waters, and over 16,000 persons had...