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The Emergency Operations Center (COE) and the National Institute of Meteorology (Indomet) urged the public last night to remain alert to the advance of Hurricane Erin, due to the rain and gusts of wind that could hit Dominican territory starting tomorrow and Monday.
A green alert has been issued in eight provinces due to downpours with gusty winds that will affect towns along the Atlantic coast and the southwest of the Caribbean coastline, the northeast, the north, the Central Mountain Range, and the border.
The center of Tropical Cyclone Erin will continue to move west/northwestward over open Atlantic waters, with its center passing hundreds of miles northeast of Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.
At a press conference, the directors of the COE (Electrical Emergency Operations), Juan Manuel Méndez, of Indomet (National Institute of Emergency Management), Gloria Ceballos, of Civil Defense (Delfín Rodríguez), and of the Press Social Plan (Yadira Henríquez), among others, specified that state relief agencies are closely monitoring Erin’s progress.
“Starting tomorrow afternoon (today), cloud bands associated with Hurricane Erin will be impacting primarily the extreme east-northeast of the country. The key day for this system is Sunday, when the center will be closest to the country, about 400 kilometers away,” Ceballos explained.
He specified that all forecasts indicate that the center of Erin will not pass through the national territory.
The hurricane
Last night, Hurricane Erin, a Category I storm and the first of this year’s hurricane season, had maximum sustained winds of 120 km/h and was 585 km east of the Lesser Antilles, moving west/northwest at a forward speed of 28 km/h.
This atmospheric phenomenon was moving rapidly and is expected to strengthen in the coming days, reaching a higher category.
Erin’s circulation will generate moderate north/northeast winds in the country starting early this morning, causing scattered showers with gusty winds and thunderstorms in localities along the Atlantic coast and the eastern Caribbean coastline, the northeast, the north, the central mountain range, and the border.
They also warn of the dangerous waves expected on the country’s northern coast, which they expect to worsen as Tropical Cyclone Erin moves over the North Atlantic waters, which will be hazardous tomorrow, Sunday, and Monday.
Vessel operators are advised to remain in port on the Atlantic coast, from La Altagracia province to Montecristi.
Temperatures will remain hot across much of the country, with lows ranging between 22°C and 24°C and highs between 33°C and 35°C.
They reiterated their call to the population to avoid loss of life and damage to property. They must heed the recommendations of relief agencies.
