National District And Santo Domingo Under State Of Emergency

The President of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader, declared a state of emergency in the provinces of Santo Domingo and the National District due to the rains recorded on Friday afternoon and night as a result of a trough and tropical wave over the country.

“Given the detection of damage in each of the municipalities, we have decided to declare an emergency for the National District and the Santo Domingo province. This decree will come out in the next few hours,” said the head of state at the end of the meeting with ministers and government agencies in the Green Room of the National Palace.

He said that the central government, together with the municipalities, have already decided and drawn up a series of plans with immediate and urgent actions for each of the affected localities.

Also that what has to do with the Social Plan and Public Works, the Santo Domingo Aqueduct and Sewerage Corporation (Caasd) and the Edes, will continue to work throughout Santo Domingo.

“However, we have to congratulate both the Edes that have already recovered 95% of the damage and the Caasd that has recovered it in full,” said the president at the meeting that lasted a little over an hour.

He added that the Social Plan has its reservations to attend to marginalized neighborhoods, the problems that have happened with furniture, mattresses and appliances, as well as the Ministry of Housing.

“We have seen more damage, according to the report we have today, with the ravines, which have affected the houses near them,” he said.

The head of state said that each of the officials leaving the meeting, together with the mayors, would go out to work, with the support of the National Police and the Army, to guarantee order.

Heavy rains

On November 4th, in a matter of hours more rain fell in Greater Santo Domingo than half of an entire rainy month, which collapsed the transit in the city, according to the measurements of the central station of the National Directorate of Meteorology.

In those three hours, 70 millimeters of water fell on Santo Domingo and the National District, when the average in the month of November averaged 132 millimeters, according to those statistics.

Roads such as 27 de Febrero, John F. Kennedy, Abraham Lincoln and Máximo Gómez avenues, which cross the city north-south and east-west, have become impossible to reach, a situation that is worsened by the desperation of drivers who have taken all the lanes. to try to move forward, but blocking traffic.

The director of the Emergency Operations Center (COE), Juan Manuel Méndez, reported that they have been able to confirm the death of four people who died because of the heavy rains on November 4th.

Also read – Heavy rains in Santo Domingo causes four deaths