Over the weekend, Tropical Storm Odette left a trail of death and destruction along the Southern Coast of the Dominican Republic. Unlike the torrential rainfall that hit the north of the country just a few days before, Odette affected the south. Reports of several deaths have been attributed to the storm and at least 14 were injured in mudslides. The actual death toll varies from three to five, depending on the newspaper. According to El Caribe, 3,600 people were evacuated to higher ground and safer cover. The CNE (National Emergency Commission) moved 600 families from the area known as Mesopotamia in San Juan de la Maguana. Readers will recall the tragic loss of life in that area during Hurricane Georges. Odette, an atypical storm that grew in the center of the Caribbean after the official end of the hurricane season, knocked down high tension towers, trees and bridges. Odette is the first storm to be registered in the Caribbean in the month of December, according to National Hurricane Center spokesperson and meteorologist David Roberts. Blackouts were caused in many parts along the South Coast, from La Romana to Perdernales, and in some areas, telephone communication was cut off by falling trees. As soon as the storm was forming and its predicted path identified, the CNE boss, Radhames Lora Salcedo, issued a nationwide “red alert”. During the flooding at the end of November, Lora Salcedo reminded the public that a “red alert” meant “Save yourself as quickly as possible!” The Emergency Commission leader told the press that he felt this time the people would respond more quickly to the alert, but he maintained a cautious forecast, since Odette was moving very slowly across Dominican territory. Lora Salcedo confirmed that while the emergency teams had to use members of the Armed Forces to get the people moving from Mesopotamia in San Juan de la Maguana, in Santiago the rescue teams were well-received by the residents of areas near the Hermanos Patino Bridge. Just a few days before, these people had been flooded out and had only just returned to their homes. Certain areas of Santo Domingo seemed to ignore the warnings, continuing on with their daily lives. This was noted in El Gualey and Las Canitas. President Hipolito Mejia told reporters that he would visit the provinces of Bahoruco and Barahona in the south to see what could be done to help those he called the “most affected” by Odette. The banana and plantain farms are reported to be in very bad shape and several houses were destroyed by mud slides and winds. In the areas around Santo Domingo, namely Isidro, Yaguate and Guerra, Odette produced flooding. A small tornado destroyed one house and damaged several others in Guerra. Over 1,000 people sought refuge in San Cristobal, where the swollen River Nigua damaged the bridgehead, cutting off hundreds of thousands of people from Santo Domingo.