As reports continue to trickle in, the persistence of torrential downpours steals all the headlines today. El Caribe reports five deaths attributed to the flooding, while the Listin Diario lists just three. Hoy reports on the multimillion-peso loss in property and crops. According to El Nacional, an evening paper, in the area around San Francisco de Macoris, the overflowing rivers have displaced 12,000 people and isolated 50 rural communities. Thousands of acres of the rice harvest have been damaged, especially in the areas of Arenoso and Villa Riva. Iluminada Perez reports in El Nacional that 40,000 are without drinking water in the area around Nagua. The National Meteorological Office (ONM) warns that rains are expected to continue into the weekend. According to the Listin Diario, General Radhames Lora Salcedo, the head of the Civil Defense and the National Emergency Committee, said that the red alert was still in effect for the Lower Yuna, Santiago and all of the Northwest as far as Monte Cristi. The Listin reports that a pregnant woman and her child were lost in Villa Riva and an elderly man was drowned in Cotui. The woman died when rescue brigades could not reach her in time to get her to a maternity center. The President’s Office authorized a RD$25-million disaster relief fund to be used to assist flood victims. Lora Salcedo, warned that since more rainfall is expected, the population should remain vigilant, especially in any low-lying areas. He also urged residents in the affected areas to boil any water for consumption.
For its part, El Caribe says that five have perished in the flooding, and that, according to Lora Salcedo, the current flooding is greater that what happened after the hurricanes David (1979) and Federico (1979). The Civil Defense leader was very firm when he told the press that “a red alert means save yourself!”