The provincial governor of Samana, Teodora Mullix, announced support for Las Terrenas beach town that was affected by a trough that brought intense rains on Monday, 15 April and Tuesday, 16 April 2024.
The governor said food would be available for those whose homes were impacted at economic soup kitchens. She said the Government Social Plan will distribute food rations, blankets, mattresses and other essential supplies that were being sent to the Las Terrenas area to assist victims of the rains.
The Ministry of Public Works deployed maintenance brigades in collaboration with RD Vial for prompt intervention. A detailed report was sent to the engineering division of the Ministry of Education, given some educational facilities may require structural attention.
The Ministry of Housing sent teams to inspect the damages.
Governor Mullix says that the authorities will maintain constant monitoring of the situation in close collaboration with Las Terrenas Mayor Eduardo Esteban (Willy).
The representative of the executive branch in Samana called for unity, teamwork and support.
Social media was busy with photographs and videos of flooding in Las Terrenas, the very popular Samana vacation destination. Intense development without corresponding drainage has affected the course of river and gully waters in the area.
The weather station at Arroyo Barril Airport in Samana reported more than 228 mm or about 9 inches of rain in less than 24 hours had caused flooding on the north side of the province where Las Terrenas is located. There are no reports of flooding in less developed Las Galeras, also on the north side. On the south side where the cities of Samana and Sanchez are located, reportedly 63 mm or 2.5 inches of rain fell and damages were not reported.
The situation of the flooding is not new, and many businesses have taken preventive measures, but the flooding creates inconveniences for those who live and vacation in Samana.
The Center for Emergency Operations (COE) said that at least 177 houses were impacted on Monday evening by the overflowing waters of the river that crosses the beach town. By the morning, the waters had returned to their normal levels and people were able to return to their homes, as reported in Diario Libre.
COE reported there were floods in the barrios La Plata, El Play, Codetel, La Granja and Rivera del Caño Seco.
Carlos Paulino, deputy director of the COE, reported on Tuesday, 16 April, that, although these homes in the abovementioned barrios were affected, there are no displaced people as the waters drained and people were able to return to their homes.
However, Paulino said that in some of the affected homes, people’s belongings were damaged, so a committee is in the area evaluating the damages.
Listin Diario reports that the floods were caused by the overflowing of the Caño Seco river. It had been seven years since similar large-scale flooding had occurred in the area.
Read more in Spanish:
El Nuevo Diario
Diario Libre
Listin Diario
17 April 2024