Torrential rains affect the beginning of the weekend; will continue Saturday and Sunday

Santo Domingo—From the early hours of the morning until the late hours of the night, a trough caused rains in different parts of the country, making it difficult for Dominican citizens to carry out their daily lives last Friday.

The torrential downpours on the last day of the work week left flood-prone streets, stranded cars, kilometer-long blocks, people running to avoid getting wet, and even the suspension of two games of the Dominican Baseball League (Lidom).

In Higüey, La Altagracia, the Anamuyita River swelled, injuring several people. Also, in some areas of Santo Domingo, such as the Malecón, vehicles “drowned” due to the masses of water on the roads caused by urban flooding.

Due to this, at the close of this edition, the Emergency Operations Center (COE) kept the greater Santo Domingo María Trinidad Sánchez, La Altagracia, Duarte, Samaná, and San Cristóbal on yellow alert, while the provinces of Hermanas Mirabal, Puerto Plata, San Pedro Macorís, Monte Plata, Valverde, Monseñor Nouel, Espaillat, Hato Mayor, Santiago, Dajabón, La Romana, Santiago Rodríguez and Montecristi are on green alert.

The Dominican Institute of Meteorology (Indomet) report pointed out that a trough will continue to generate downpours in much of the national territory throughout the weekend, prior to the Christmas Eve dinner holiday on December 24.

This Saturday, the effects of the trough’s incidence will continue with scattered downpours in much of the country in the morning hours. On Sunday, the conditions will cause scattered downpours, moderate to heavy, and occasional thunderstorms from the early hours of the day, mainly to provinces on the Atlantic coast, the eastern plain, the southern coastal coast, and the Central Cordillera.

After that, the COE recommends that operators of small, fragile, and medium-sized boats on the Atlantic Coast from Cabo Engaño to Cabo Frances Viejo remain in port due to the waves and gusts of abnormal winds. Similarly, they called on the rest of the coast to navigate cautiously near the perimeter without venturing out to sea and on the Caribbean coast, specifically from Cabo Engaño to the eastern part of Saona Island.

They also recommend that the population follow the guidelines of protection agencies and that residents of high-risk areas near rivers, streams, and ravines remain attentive to the necessary precautionary measures in the face of possible floods and flash floods.

Likewise, people should refrain from crossing rivers, streams, and ravines with high water volumes, especially in provinces that remain on alert.