In three hours, 70% of the historical rainfall total for the month of November fell on Santo Domingo
SANTO DOMINGO. - Overflowing residential, shopping center, and university parking lots; car dealerships with flooded new vehicles; vehicles floating with drivers clinging to life; electric gates ripped from houses by the strong current; endless traffic jams stretching into the late hours of the night; and employees stranded at their workplaces for long hours were all part of the scene in the Dominican Republic on Friday, November 4th, amid torrential rains.
Gloria Ceballos, director of the National Meteorological Office (ONAMET), reported after ten o'clock at night that in Greater Santo Domingo, 70 milliliters were recorded in three hours, equivalent to 70% of the amount of rain that historically falls in November in the country.
As of last night, two deaths had been reported in the Villa Claudia and Los Ríos sectors.
From five to eight o'clock at night, torrential downpours began that quickly flooded roads, houses, bridges, underpasses, parking lots, businesses, highways, while the astonished population did not understand the reasons for the unusual flooding that collapsed the Dominican capital.
After 7:00 p.m., social media began to be flooded with videos and various scenes reflecting the chaos and the difficult situation faced by citizens who were away from home: those at work were stranded, and those on the streets experienced terrifying scenes that until recently had only been seen in movies. Some decided to abandon their vehicles and prioritize their lives, given the torrential rain that continued for three hours and flooded Greater Santo Domingo.
The high level of rainfall overwhelmed the capacity of the sewer system, to such a degree that the waters turned Santo Domingo into a sea of currents.
Roads such as 27 de Febrero, John F. Kennedy, Abraham Lincoln and Máximo Gómez avenues, which cross the city north-south and east-west, became impassable, a situation that worsened due to the desperation of drivers who took all lanes to try to move forward, contributing to the traffic collapse.
They coordinate work at the COE
The relief agencies of the Government and the City Hall of the National District were activated to deal with the damage caused by the torrential downpours recorded.
The work is being coordinated from the Emergency Operations Center (COE) by the mayor of the National District, Carolina Mejía, and the Minister of the Presidency, José Ignacio Paliza.
“In this type of situation, we ask the population to refrain from putting out the garbage because the waters carry away that waste and the bags clog the drains,” the mayor requested.
Two phenomena coincided
The situation in Greater Santo Domingo worsened because two atmospheric phenomena coincided, each of which individually tends to bring a lot of rain: a tropical wave and a low-pressure system.
Ceballos reported that the rains will continue throughout Saturday and it will not be until Sunday that the weather situation will begin to normalize.
Two people killed by downpours
The Emergency Operations Center (COE) received a report of a person dead in the vicinity of the "Las 800" ravine in "Los Ríos" when he tried to rescue a vehicle that was being swept away by the waters.
The other person died in the "Villa Claudia" sector when a wall collapsed on top of him.
