These decisions are being made because the rains will continue for more than 48 hours, creating a saturated soil situation, which complicates vehicular and pedestrian traffic.
SANTO DOMINGO– “We are calling on citizens to be more conscientious. Most of the flooding we see on avenues and main roads is due to clogged drains caused by large amounts of garbage.” This Tuesday, the Ministry of Public Works and Communications (MOPC) urged the public to cooperate with authorities and refrain from throwing trash into public areas.
The Deputy Minister of Road Maintenance, Luis Bastardo, stated that the brigades continuously clean the drains on public roads, "and the problem we always encounter is that when the waters arrive they cannot function, due to the large accumulation of garbage that we citizens cause," he explained.
The Ministry of Public Works and Communications (MOPC) reported that it reinforced its operations on Tuesday with new brigades and equipment to clean storm drains and to alleviate flooding on major avenues.
Bastardo said that these decisions are being made because the rains will continue for more than 48 hours, creating a saturated soil situation, which complicates vehicular and pedestrian traffic.
He said that MOPC brigades, made up of about 300 men, are working on structures, streets and avenues with reports of flooding, such as the overpass on 27 de Febrero Avenue, Expreso Quinto Centenario (near John F. Kennedy Avenue), Rómulo Betancourt Avenue, and Higuemota Street.
Also, Gregorio Luperón Avenue (west of the city), the San Isidro Highway (near Charles de Gaulle), Professor Juan Bosch Avenue (in Parque del Este), and in sectors of the municipality of Santo Domingo Norte (near Jacobo Majluta Avenue).
Bastardo said that these works are being carried out following instructions from Minister Deligne Ascención, "that as soon as it was announced that rain was coming due to a trough and that it would affect Greater Santo Domingo, we have been in the streets since very early in the morning, cleaning the drains and storm drains.".
At 11:00 a.m. this Tuesday, the preliminary report from the Emergency Operations Center (COE) placed four provinces on red alert (including Greater Santo Domingo), and maintains 13 on yellow and eight on green.
"The most intense and frequent downpours are expected this afternoon and evening across much of the country," according to the COE forecast.
Special Brigades
Bastardo emphasized that additional special brigades have been integrated into these efforts, and that the MOPC is calling on the public to cooperate by not throwing waste onto public roads, a situation that contributes to clogging storm drains and sewers.
Earlier, brigades and teams from Public Works carried out cleaning work on storm drains and removal of waste in different streets and avenues, after the rains recorded last night and this morning, which are caused by a trough.
Bastardo, who was in charge of the work, explained that, following instructions from Minister Deligne Ascención, the brigades were in different sectors of Greater Santo Domingo and in other areas of the country.
