Abinader announces measures in national territory due to the incidence of rains

Santo Domingo—President Luis Abinader led a meeting this Saturday with emergency agencies at the Emergency Operations Center (COE), where the Government announced its measures to deal with the effects of the tidal wave affecting the country.

President Abinader indicated that, according to the information provided by Gloria Ceballos, the director of the Dominican Institute of Metrology (INDOMET), the precautions are applicable throughout the national territory, mainly in the north and northwest, where they will be more concentrated.

The Head of State said that this is mainly a prevention meeting, which the mayors of Greater Santo Domingo, the Social Cabinet, and the emergency agencies attended. He also said that he has already communicated and met with the governors of the provinces on yellow and green alerts for prevention work.

“The important thing is prevention, especially the rains, which can cause damage at this time, or floods. That they do not cause the loss of any human life, that is the work and organization of prevention we are doing today,” the president emphasized.

He announced that next Monday, in La Semanal with the press, they will talk about the current event, some ideas and preventions that are being worked on, and an application authored by Civil Protection will be presented so that the population can warn of the damage that may be caused by any atmospheric event.

“We are talking about creating some protocols on this type of events, this does not exist yet, nor is it a general line in any of the countries of the world, but we will try to stay at the forefront in the construction of innovative policies,” he said.

The head of state took the opportunity to express his pride for the members of the Civil Defense, who, he said, work without any kind of remuneration. “For many years, the Civil Defense, the Fire Department, and the Red Cross were the Cinderella of the governments. We have practically doubled many of the aids and subsidies given to them and will continue to do so to the extent of our possibilities.”

Heavy rainfall expected

For his part, the director of the COE, Major General (R) Juan Manuel Méndez, explained that important precipitations are expected in a large part of the national territory, especially tomorrow, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday.

In this regard, he informed that President Abinader instructed the institutions that are part of the Emergency Operations Center, that is, the Ministries of Public Works, Public Health, Defense, Economic Canteens, Social Plan of the Presidency, Civil Defense, as well as the various municipalities to activate their contingency plans to confront and deal with the situations that may arise.

Likewise, Major General Méndez indicated that the governor authorized pre-positioning the teams for the responses organized and ordered by the Government through the different institutions.

“The Emergency Operations Center maintains a yellow alert level for Puerto Plata, Maria Trinidad Sanchez, Espaillat, Hato Mayor, El Seibo, Samana, Duarte, Hermanas Mirabal and La Altagracia. The provinces of Santo Domingo, Distrito Nacional, La Vega, San Cristóbal, Montecristi, Santiago and San Pedro de Macorís remain in green”, informed the COE director.

The COE director called on the population not to be careless and to communicate through the emergency lines in any situation since the atmosphere is very dynamic.

The COE director insisted that because the atmosphere is very dynamic, the alert levels they are issuing could vary at any moment, expanding and raising the levels to red, yellow, or green. “That is to say, the population must be in accordance with the guidelines emanating from this Center and the institutions that comprise it.”

About the dams

Meanwhile, the director of the National Institute of Hydraulic Resources (INDRHI), Olmedo Caba, reported that the dams at their current level are in condition to receive the volumes of water expected according to rainfall forecasts. “The dams are prepared based on a protocol that has been in place for several days.”