Tropical Storm Emily was a no show on Wednesday, but on Thursday the DR was drenched by non-stop rain in most areas, the exceptions being low-lying areas like Punta Cana. For an overview of the storm, see the coverage on the DR1 Forums Weather & Beyond Hurricanes 2011 link, including excellent forecasting by Mike Fisher, and advice on where to turn if there is a storm in our area.
http://www.dr1.com/forums/weather-beyond/115613-hurricane-season-2011-a.html
Last night the National Meteorological Office (Onamet) lifted the storm warnings for the Dominican Republic. The Emergency Operations Center (COE) said that 7,534 people living in high-risk areas sought refuge with friends and relatives (5,985) and in government shelters (1,549). Onamet warns that the rains will continue on Friday, with high surf and waves nationwide.
COE head General Juan Manuel Mendez Garcia said that the red alert is being maintained for 25 provinces and the National District (Santo Domingo) as the rain could cause flooding.
El Caribe reports that as many people took the day off work yesterday, and some even on Friday, traffic in the usually congested Santo Domingo streets flowed freely. According to reports, flooding as a result of heavy rainfall caused extensive damage to major farming areas in the southwest, namely Barahona plantain, cassava, pumpkin and sweet potato plantations.
One death was reported, a young man named as Edward Diaz Urbaez, son of Dr. Victor Diaz Alba, a former president of the Dominican Medical Association.
As reported in Hoy, Diaz Urbaez, 23, died just after 3pm after returning from work at the San Lorenzo Mina hospital. He went to a sports club on Calle Presidente Vasquez in the Alma Rosa II sector to register a relative. He fell into a puddle of water that regularly forms when it rains and was sucked in by an uncovered drain.
He is survived by his parents, Victor Diaz and Bertha Urbaez Alba, and three siblings.