Without giving space to recover from the damage caused by Hurricane Beryl on the Caribbean coast, yesterday the territory was under the influence of an active tropical wave that caused heavy downpours during the afternoon hours, causing urban flooding.
Tropical wave number 17 was following the same route as Beryl, and had the potential to cause flooding when interacting with an unstable, warm atmosphere and a significant increase in humidity.
All of the above is what would generate torrential rains, thunderstorms and gusts of wind, especially in the southern, southeastern and northeastern parts of the country.
Authorities urged people to drive with caution to avoid accidents.
Flooded roads
Yesterday, the main streets and avenues of Greater Santo Domingo looked like seas or lakes, due to the amount of water on the roads left by more than four hours of uninterrupted rain.
This situation caused traffic in the city to become chaotic, with long traffic jams and reduced visibility due to rain, making it difficult for people to reach their destinations quickly.
Underground parking lots were also flooded yesterday afternoon, while some vehicles could be seen stranded on the streets.
In this regard, the director of the National Meteorological Office (Onamet), Gloria Ceballos, called for caution due to flash floods, while reporting that in just three hours 82 millimeters of rain had been recorded.
Increase alerts
At 6:00 p.m., the director of the Emergency Operations Center (COE), Juan Manuel Méndez, raised the National District and the province of Santo Domingo to red alert due to the effects that the phenomenon could have in these areas.
He also called on the population to refrain from crossing rivers, streams or ravines that present large volumes of water, whether in vehicles or on foot.
The streets of the National District became “rivers” that made mobility difficult by vehicle or on foot. José Francisco
He also urged not to be careless with urban flooding, especially in places on red alert, since according to Onamet projections, the rains would continue last night and during the day.
The provinces of Peravia, San Cristobal, San Pedro de Macoris, La Romana, La Altagracia, Barahona, Monte Plata and Pedernales were on yellow alert.
For today, Onamet forecasts that the tropical wave will be located west of the island and the permanence of the trough will maintain cloudiness from morning hours accompanied by showers, which will increase after noon.
To look for help
In case of emergency
The COE director recommended that people contact the emergency telephone numbers of that entity in the event of any situation that may arise and that represents a risk: 809-472-0909; as well as 9-1-1 and others.
Source: The Day
