President Hipolito Mejia promised farmers in the Cibao Valley that he would not abandon them. The President toured the area surrounding San Francisco de Macoris and the devastation created by the flooding of the Yuna River in the northern areas of the country. Accompanied by his Minister of Agriculture and other high-ranking officials, the President surveyed the damage by helicopter.
Mejia was informed that 42,000 tareas (about 7,000 acres) of rice crops had been flooded, with losses calculated at RD$172 million, according to reports in Hoy newspaper. Heavy downpours prevented the President from visiting areas in the Northwest, but government representatives reported that 60 tanker trucks were carrying potable water to the affected towns of Castanuela, Guayubin, Villa Vasquez and Monte Cristi, where the water pumps were left unserviceable. As of Saturday, the statistics read as follows: 9,454 families affected, 1,116 flooded houses and 47,270 people evacuated – but only 1,818 in refuge centers. Also as of Saturday, there were five reported deaths, although Sunday’s papers were saying reported a death toll of nine or ten as a result of the rains and flooding. The National Meteorological Office is calling for continued precipitation for the Cibao Valley and the Southeast of the Dominican Republic. All of the large dams in the area have been stabilized.