Although the eye of hurricane Hortense passed well to the northeast of Hispaniola Island, the east and northeast of the D.R., particularly Higuey, Nagua and Samana, were affected by the heavy rains and strong winds. In Higuey there were 3 deaths, 21 people missing and millions of pesos of damage to buildings and crops due to the stormy conditions caused by Hortense. Approximately 400 rural houses were destroyed, rising waters from the Duey river left hundreds more homeless, and the rest of the community without electricity, telephones or water.
In Samana and Nagua, 80% of the planted crops were wiped out by the torrential rains and high winds, which also destroyed 125 houses but did not cause any deaths or injuries, according to the newspaper Hoy. The rising waters of the Arroyo del Medio, Palmita and Guayabo kept 43 communities “incomunicados” for several hours.
President Leonel Fernandez has promised to provide financial and logistical assistance to the affected communities after surveying many of the areas from an aircraft accompanied by the Ministers of Public Works, Jaime Duran, and of Public Health, Erasmo Vasquez.