As it moves westwards, tropical storm Erika is bringing beneficial rains to the Dominican Republic. The path of the storm is more southerly than originally projected. The storm is expected to move north crossing over the center of the country. This path would actually be good news because it would bring needed rains to central farm areas that had been experiencing drought for several months. Weather forecasters are now saying the storm will affect the entire country.
In its 7am bulletin today, Friday 28 August 2015, the Emergency Operations Center (COE) issued red alerts for most of the country. At 5am, the COE reported that the storm was located east-southwest of Santo Domingo moving at 28kph with maximum sustained winds of 85 kph. As of 8am, the storm was reported to be located at 17.7N 68.5W and the center is now approaching the Dominican Republic.
Erika is expected to cause rainfall accumulations of 4 to 8 inches with maximum amounts of 12 inches possible. Residents of vulnerable areas should take precautions because the rains could cause life-threatening flash floods and mudslides.
Read updates on the storm reported on the DR1 Forums.
http://dr1.com/forums/showthread.php/150428-2015-Hurricane-Season
http://coe.gob.do/index.php/alertas