Four days of rains fell in most of the Cibao Valley very late last week, and both urban and rural populations were elated. According to reports in the Diario Libre and the El Caribe, farmers and cattlemen are hopeful that this will be a major break in the months’ long drought.
The head of the Irrigation Board for the Horacio Vasquez Canal in Montecristi, Jose Eugenio de la Rosa, told reporters that the water supply to the farmers in the area had increased enough to supply water for important harvests such as bananas, rice and plantains. He said that they were hopeful that the rains would continue to supply the watersheds for the rivers that supply the Yaque del Norte river.
He said that his community of farmers were getting sufficient water to have a successful harvest. Areas such as Guayubin, Esperanza, Mao and Castañuelas have been getting good rains. In the four northwestern provinces some 100,000 tareas are under rice and banana production.
The rains provided a respite for the farmers and cattlemen of the region, especially after some six months without any significant water from the skies. Rivers such as the Amina and Mao, major tributaries of the Yaque del Norte, were filled with water and caused some urban flooding.
According to the El Caribe reporter, Jose Fernandez, these rains have been a blessing for farmers. Santiago Rodriguez, where over 1,000 head of cattle had reportedly died from the drought, was also blessed with heavy rains. The Mao river, where the Monción Dam is located, was somewhat less full of water than the Amina, but both showed major flows into the Yaque.
In Santiago, there was urban flooding, but the important issue was the rains in the Central Mountain Range that are the watersheds for the most important rivers in this country and Haiti. The water level at the important Tavera Dam increased to 314.7 meters above sea level, yet still far below its optimum operating level of 325m.
Read more in Spanish:
Diario Libre
El Caribe
Hoy
1 April 2019