The Minister of the Presidency, José Ignacio Paliza, made a visit this Monday to the municipality of Higüey, La Altagracia province, where he toured the areas affected by an atmospheric phenomenon that is impacting the national territory.
The official reported that a total of 483 homes have been affected nationwide , 289 of which are in La Altagracia province , making it the area most severely impacted by the rains . He added that a Haitian national lost his life while attempting to cross a river due to flooding caused by the heavy rains.
For his part, the director of the COE, General Juan Manuel Méndez, indicated that in the country 18 provinces remain under yellow alert and 8 under green alert due to the influence of a troughcombined with a tropical wave, which will continue to generate rainfall of varying intensity in the province of La Altagracia for the rest of the day.
Paliza oversaw the first completed phase of the gabion walls built on the banks upstream and downstream of the Duey River, with an extension of eight kilometers and an investment of more than 1.2 billion pesos, benefiting 20 sectors and more than 120,000 people.
“Following Tropical Storm Fiona, the Dominican government has initiated numerous significant investments that have helped mitigate much of the damage caused by the flooding of rivers, in this case, the Duey River, where works are underway; however, in the completed areas, the negative impact of these events has been almost nil,” Paliza emphasized.
The minister explained that the execution of this project has great importance in this area, so the Government will allocate the necessary resources to continue its course and mitigate the damage caused by river flooding due to phenomena related to climate change.
He also took the opportunity to call on citizens to remain alert and follow the instructions of the COE in the face of rainfall.
Similarly, the director of the Social Assistance Plan, Yadira Henríquez , announced the delivery of raw food rations and household goods to affected people residing in the most vulnerable areas of the municipality; while the director of Economic Dining Halls, Edgar Féliz , announced that he has made available two mobile kitchens , where cooked food will be delivered to the locals, to mitigate the effects caused by the rains of recent days.
These statements were made during a meeting held at the Provincial Government of La Altagracia, in which the following participated: Governor Martina Pepén; Vice Minister of Public Works, Luis Germán Bastardo; Senator of the province, Rafael Barón Duluc; Mayor of the municipality, Francisco Rodríguez; Vice Mayor, Pablo Ávila; Director of the COE, General Juan Manuel Méndez; Yadira Henríquez, Director of the Social Assistance Plan; Director of Economic Dining Halls, Edgar Féliz Méndez; Representative Francisco Villegas; Provincial Director of Civil Defense, Fernando Castillo; and President of the local Red Cross branch, Luis Felipe, among other authorities.
