For the moment, no victims or major damages were reported
Tropical storm Emily
has been meandering during the past few hours on the south of the Dominican Republic and is drenching most of the country but isn’t unleashing the major flooding that were initially forecast, due to a change in course yesterday.
In spite of Emily
moving to the West, the National Meteorological Office (Onamet) kept its Tropical Storm Warning for the coastal areas because of the continuing rains. The COE kept its RED Alert in place for 26 provinces and a yellow alert for the other 6.
The authorities from the Center for Emergency Operations (COE) also evacuated 1,647 persons as a precautionary measure, and 642 were places in official shelters and 1,005 in the homes of friends and family.
Most businesses shut their doors in the Santo Domingo yesterday afternoon, while at least 14 flights were cancelled in the busy Las Americas International Airport, where others were rescheduled.
Yesterday the Water Observatory and the Committee for Dam and Reservoir Operations took measures to insure that he nation’s dams were in condition to control the water. Frank Rodriguez, the director of the Dominican Institute for Hydraulic Resources (Indrhi), reported after a meeting that they agreed to operate the hydro-electric plants at Tavera, Valdesia and Lopez-Angostura at full capacity.
For their part, the Government ordered a RD $54 million fund, through the Presidential Social Plan, to help the persons affected by the rains. The director of the Social Plan, Emigdio Sosa, indicated that 170,000 families would be assisted.
