Flooding in Santo Domingo

J

johne

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Jun 28, 2003
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NALs said:
At one point I read the DR actually has the lowest hurricane risk in the Caribbean, even lower than Florida, due to its geographic position and that most major hurricanes go north or south of the country..
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Interested in knowing what is is the advantage we have in "the geographic position" of DR/Santo Domingo . Perhaps our "hurricane guy" can answer this if he hasn't gone off duty yet. LOL.
 
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william webster

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Advantage might be Pto Rico deflects incoming activity...... high central mountains deflect storms north or south
 
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cavok

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I wonder what percentage of owners of all those privately owned cars had insurance to cover that kind of damage? I think many Dominicans only have liability coverage. Big losses for a lot of people there.
 
bob saunders

bob saunders

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NALs said:
That has been the case of every summer since 1998. "Dodging a bullet in terms of hurricanes" is more normal than thought for Santo Domingo, particularly major hurricanes. I think DR1 didn't exist back then, which means most expats have never been in the DR during the arrival of a major hurricane.

Before Georges in 1998, the one my grandfather used to mention a lot was David in 1979 based on all the damage it did and he witnessed. Those types of storms mark very heavily whomever lives through them to the point it becomes a dividing point of before and after. Granted that the DR doesn't get hit with major hurricanes as much as other Caribbean islands. At one point I read the DR actually has the lowest hurricane risk in the Caribbean, even lower than Florida, due to its geographic position and that most major hurricanes go north or south of the country. The same can't be said regarding the esrthquake risk since the DR has one of the highest amount of tectonic faults in the Caribbean and in The Americas in general.
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My wife was going to UASD IN 1979 in Santo Domingo when David hit. Her uncle took her and the four girls she shared an apartment with to his house and they were nice and safe. Their apartment was destroyed. We got a lot of rain in Jasrabacoa but no flooding that I am aware of.
 
AlterEgo

AlterEgo

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I remember David well, our son was a baby. It was devastating. One story that still haunts me…….. many many people left their houses to the local church, thinking it was safer (stone, concrete, etc) as the hurricane hit. One person, a girl if I remember correctly, had to go outside to go to relieve herself, and while she was out there the heavy roof collapsed and killed everyone inside. The girl was the only survivor. I wish I could remember exactly where it happened, but it wasn’t far from our house, so probably somewhere in San Cristobal province.

There wasn’t a palm tree left standing on our beach, buildings were gone, roofs flew away; flooded cars were the least of their worries that time.
 
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J

johne

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But still, 40 years plus is a damn good record of percentages of chance.
 
K

Kipling333

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NALs said:
Santo Domingo was going to flood even if it had the world's best and most complete drainage system with no rubbish in sight. Any city receives the amount of rain it did in such a short period of time will flood. There is no other way.
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Actually the Director of Onamet has stated and it is also reported by Bloomberg that the rainfall in the 3 hours was 70 mm which is about half the monthly rainfall . Of course there had been solid rain the day before . 70 mm is less than 3 inches on the old scale.
 
NALs

NALs

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Kipling333 said:
Actually the Director of Onamet has stated and it is also reported by Bloomberg that the rainfall in the 3 hours was 70 mm which is about half the monthly rainfall . Of course there had been solid rain the day before . 70 mm is less than 3 inches on the old scale.
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SD should have a drainage system like NYC to handle too much rain in a short amount of time.

 
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SNH

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I could never understand why people thought Piantini / Naco was the best area in Santo Domingo, even after living there I did't get it so I moved.
Has to to be the most overrated area in the city. Yet many recommend as best place to live.
  • Worst traffic in the city can take more than 1 hour to get from Lincoln to Churchill
  • Not walkable, barely any sidewalks they build all the way to the curb
  • NO grass, greenspace
  • Underground parking which floods everytime it rains
  • Cheaply made towers, just a couple of feet apart from each other
  • Zero airflow
  • Crime, streets are empty since everything is walled in. Easy target for the guys on motos. Many people get their phones snatched walking around that area.
  • And FLOODING!
One Uber driver said it best. Piantini being a top area is just a MYTH
 
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chico bill

chico bill

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Good drainage systems are a must even in the deserts of Arizona.
But when they get plugged with palm fronds and Styrofoam lunch containers, used tiers, fundas up the wazoo, oil filters and broken plastic chairs they are close to useless - and eventually they get might cleaned when all the trash moves to rivers and ocean.

Meanwhile that reminds me of advice given to a constipated tourist visiting a tropical island when the local doctor he visited said to him:
"With fronds like these who needs enemas ?" - I am sure there are some old-timers familiar with this corny joke.
 
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