The COE places eight provinces on green alert and urges caution due to Hurricane Erin.

Santo Domingo, DR—The Emergency Operations Center (COE) has placed all Atlantic coast provinces on green alert ahead of Hurricane Erin, whose center will be located approximately 400 kilometers off the northeast corner of the country on Sunday.

The provinces on green alert are La Altagracia, Hato Mayor, Espaillat, Monte Cristi, El Seibo, Samaná, María Trinidad Sánchez, and Puerto Plata.

“We’re going to ask you, starting now, 24-36 hours beforehand, to take all necessary measures. The population, in general, must understand that the first principle of risk management is self-evacuation; they shouldn’t wait for an authority to arrive and remove you from an unsafe location,” said Juan Manuel Mendez, director of the COE.

Rain will impact the country starting Saturday afternoon, especially in the extreme east and northeast of the country, but it will be more intense on Sunday as the hurricane’s center will be closer to the country.

Accumulated rainfall will be between 70 and 75 millimeters, which represents urban flooding.

Juan Manuel Méndez, director of the COE, announced that tomorrow they will issue recommendations regarding beach use along the entire Atlantic coast and for Greater Santo Domingo.

Likewise, starting tomorrow at 5:00 p.m., they recommended that small, medium, and large vessels remain in port from La Altagracia to Monte Cristi.

Similarly, they reported that there are approximately 779 shelters available in those provinces, with a capacity of 181,765 people.

Juan Manuel Méndez urged the public to “stay connected because it’s the weekend, and stay in touch with the COE at 809-472-0909.”