On Monday, 24 April 2017, the emergency assistance organizations rescued 19 people, including a pregnant woman, whose lives were in danger due to flooding caused by the rains.
The Center for Emergency Operations (COE) reported that 28 aqueducts are out of service, 22 closed as a precaution and another six due to the volume of water in the provinces under alert.
The number of people who had to evacuate their homes has risen to 17,000 with 61 communities cut off and 2,939 homes affected. There are 101 people in official shelters, and nine highways and 10 bridges have been affected, as of 6pm on Tuesday, 25 April 2017 (Bulletin 14).
There are still 25 provinces under a flood alert, and are susceptible to the effects of overflowing rivers and streams and mudslides.
Under red alert are María Trinidad Sánchez; Duarte, especially Bajo Yuna; Sánchez Ramírez and San Cristóbal, especially Villa Altagracia.
Under yellow alert are Espaillat, San José de Ocoa, Hermanas Mirabal, Peravia, Monseñor Nouel, La Vega, Azua, Barahona, Monte Plata, San Pedro de Macorís and Greater Santo Domingo.
Under green alert are La Romana, San Juan de la Maguana, La Altagracia, Elías Piña, Santiago, Puerto Plata, Hato Mayor, Samaná, El Seibo and Dajabón.
Small boats are being advised to stay in port along the Caribbean coast and to stay close to shore along the Atlantic coast.
The rains have been due to a weather front over Haiti and are expected to continue over the next 24 hours as it moves across the country.
The intense rains even caused the suspension of the work session at the Chamber of Deputies on Tuesday, 25 April 2017. The session was postponed until Tuesday, 2 May after many deputies sent in apologies for not attending reporting they were helping people in their provinces that had been affected by the heavy rains.
More rains are forecast for later in the week by the National Weather Office (Onamet). Onamet says another trough will be crossing the country.
Read more in Spanish:
Listin Diario
El Caribe
COE
26 April 2017
