The quick arrival of Tropical Storm Alpha crossed Dominican territory over the weekend leaving three missing, one reported injured, and several thousand refugees. The tropical storm was named Alpha because this has become the most active storm season on record, with over 23 named storms, and the United States National Weather Bureau ran out of names with Hurricane Wilma. Tropical Depression #25 grew in the eastern Caribbean and quickly became Tropical Storm Alpha on Saturday. The fast moving storm crossed the Dominican Republic from south to north over Saturday night and Sunday morning, before moving out into the Atlantic. As expected, the worst damage was reported in the southern regions of the Dominican Republic. San Pedro de Macoris, Santo Domingo East and the towns in the south, Bani, Azua, Barahona and San Juan de la Maguana were worst affected. The Center of Emergency Operations, (COE), reported flooding in some areas and maintains its red alert for all low-lying areas.
The Minister of Agriculture has announced that the government will allocate RD$150 million to fund the recovery efforts after the passing of Alpha. Amilcar Romero said that the damage to the south of the country will be repaired and that there are plans in place to prevent food shortages. The Minister said that the Agriculture Bank has a special loan portfolio for short cycle crops for just these occasions. Romero said that they would be closely monitoring the supply of plantains, onions, beans and potatoes.