Intense rains cause flooding in Las Terrenas

[Dolores]

The provincial governor of Samana, Teodora Mullix, announced support for Las Terrenas beach town that was affected by a trough that brought intense rains on Monday, 15 April and Tuesday, 16 April 2024.

The governor said food would be available for those whose homes were impacted at economic soup kitchens. She said the Government Social Plan will distribute food rations, blankets, mattresses and other essential supplies that were being sent to the Las Terrenas area to assist victims of the rains.

The Ministry of Public Works deployed maintenance brigades in collaboration with RD Vial for prompt intervention. A detailed report was sent to the engineering division of the Ministry of Education, given some educational facilities may require structural attention.

The Ministry of Housing sent teams to inspect the damages.

Governor Mullix says that the authorities...

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[Squat]

Being there, I would say those floodings were caused not by the rain itself but by the overconstruction and filling of riverbed & wetlands. Thank you, real-estate industry & AirBnB, it's on you! Also the amount of trash was impressive, but that one is on the barrios. Rain has been falling all the time, and it wasn't flooding like this time. It will only get worst.

 

[NanSanPedro]

Being there, I would say those floodings were caused not by the rain itself but by the overconstruction and filling of riverbed & wetlands. Thank you, real-estate industry & AirBnB, it's on you! Also the amount of trash was impressive, but that one is on the barrios. Rain has been falling all the time, and it wasn't flooding like this time. It will only get worst.

Thanks for that. I was really wondering why the floods. If I understand your post correctly, many people did not build originally in a flood plain but subsequent building has created a new flood plain? Acuerdo?

 

[Jumbo]

Watching the amount of construction materials going into the upper parts of Maranatha and Sosua Abajo it will only get worse all around the island. This is happening everywhere. In the states I have lived on the same street for 60 years. It is a flat area just before the Boston line. We have a river 3 streets over. Past the river there are hills and the Blue Hills reservation. Over the past 30 years all the houses have had sump pumps installed. Reason be the water table is rising. Yes, from much more runoff from uphill. So unless the engineers in the DR can figure this out many areas will be worthless in 20 years. As always stated sh!t runs down hill.

 

[Northern Coast Diver]

Thanks for that. I was really wondering why the floods. If I understand your post correctly, many people did not build originally in a flood plain but subsequent building has created a new flood plain? Acuerdo?

Using Sosua as an example, 20 years ago much of the north side of town had farmland along the ocean. To the south of Sosua are hills and when it rains, water flows downhill into town. This water formerly ran right off into the ocean. On the north end of town along the coast, where the farms were, are now built large homes. The first thing done before building a new home is the lot gets filled to raise height of the land to keep the house dry when it rains. Now the end of town around Voramar floods with heavy rain, 20 years ago this was not a problem.

 

[JD Jones]

Using Sosua as an example, 20 years ago much of the north side of town had farmland along the ocean. To the south of Sosua are hills and when it rains, water flows downhill into town. This water formerly ran right off into the ocean. On the north end of town along the coast, where the farms were, are now built large homes. The first thing done before building a new home is the lot gets filled to raise height of the land to keep the house dry when it rains. Now the end of town around Voramar floods with heavy rain, 20 years ago this was not a problem.

I went to look at house for sale once between Sosua and Cabarete. As luck would have it, I couldn't visit it because it was in the middle of a lake due to flooding.

 

[jd426]

Water can only be diverted , never stopped . Its power going downhill should never be underestimated. even 4 inches of water flowing downhill can do serious damage .. How do these developers not know this .. or they do, and just decide to make it everyone else' Problem
3rd World Country thinking. But not that this cant happen anywhere .. Even in developed Countries when bribes and Corruption are commonplace. I recall a Development with over 100 Homes (not to go off topic with Non DR stories ).. those Homes never flooded ever in many decades,.. then some highway Project diverted the water .. Next time it rained heavy, not even Hurricane type rain,.. just heavy Rain, every home in that development was flooded .. incompetence & Corruption know no bounds...

 

[jd426]

I went to look at house for sale once between Sosua and Cabarete. As luck would have it, I couldn't visit it because it was in the middle of a lake due to flooding.

I would say you visited at exactly the right time . you dodged a bullet .