On 3 September 1930, the city of Santo Domingo was hit by Hurricane San Zenon. For all intents and purposes, the city was destroyed. Photographs show the destruction and thousands of houses with no roofs. Over 2,000 persons lost their lives, and the event ushered in the 31-year reign of dictator Rafael Trujillo.
At that time, there was no National Hurricane Center or National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (NHC and NOAA) so the hurricanes were named for the saints on the Roman Catholic Church calendar.
In this case, the eye of San Zenon passed over the city of Santo Domingo and its 70,000 population.
Only the stronger buildings survived the storm, many in the historic Colonial City.
According to the historical records, when the hurricane first passed over the city, the residents came out of their houses during the calm, only to be shattered by the other side of the eye of the storm. Flooding caused many fatalities, but most people were killed by flying objects. The victims were buried in a common grave, located at what is now known as the Eugenio Maria de Hostos Park on the Malecón in Santo Domingo.
General Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina had come into office just a few weeks prior to this disaster and used his talents as the leader of the armed forces and the other agencies of order to carry out the clean up and reconstruction of the city. As a result of his efforts, Trujillo established himself as the nation’s leader for the next 31 years.
Remember that September is the “month of hurricanes.” So far, the season has been very slow in the development of major storms.
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Diario Libre
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5 September 2022