Tropical Storm Franklin threatens Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The greatest risks are associated with the heavy rains brought by the meteorological phenomenon, so both countries activate their warning systems and prepare for the arrival of the storm.
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32 Dominican Provinces Placed on Alert Due to Storm Franklin
The main concern regarding the high rainfall has to do with the danger of floods and landslides that affect peripheral communities in both countries, many of which are built in unsafe areas due to their proximity to mountain slopes, arid terrain, riverbeds and reservoirs.
By Monday 21, Franklin’s eye was about 390 kilometers from the capital of the Dominican Republic advancing through the Caribbean Sea, with maximum sustained winds of 85 kilometers per hour and an average speed of 7 km/h heading west. It is expected to turn north suddenly, reaching Dominican shores on Wednesday morning.
The corresponding authorities in the Dominican Republic have activated the civil defense systems of 14 provinces and have scheduled several contingency meetings, where the Dominican president Luis Abinader will participate.
The tweet reads, "In a visit to the Director of Civil Defense, Juan Salas, we learned the details of the storm Franklin. And the protection to all special to the most vulnerable but also of the inmates of the Victoria and Rafey Men and women in Santiago, centers of possible flooding."
It is expected at least 25 centimeters of rain in both Dominican and Haiti, which may be somewhat higher in specific regions according to their natural characteristics.
The main concern, both inside and outside the country, is the precarious situation in which Haiti finds itself to face these heavy rains. There are more than 350,000 internally displaced persons living in nearly 400 camps, of which about 100 are at risk of flooding, which will increase significantly with the arrival of the tropical storm. Other areas of the Caribbean are expected to be affected by Franklin, as is the immediate case of Puerto Rico, which will be impacted by the proximity of the storm, with hundreds of rains even greater than those predicted for its arrival in Hispaniola, between 50 and 100 mm of rainfall.
In Haiti, systematic deforestation has made many rural areas extremely vulnerable to floods and outbreaks of contagious diseases associated with them.
"This hurricane season, we must pay particular attention to averting the new cholera outbreak. According to the Ministry of Health, emergency cholera prevention supplies currently stored in the country will run out in September, which is often the busiest month of the hurricane season," said Kristine Parco, director of the Health and Psychosocial Support Unit program of the International Organization for Migration IOM.
Other areas of the Caribbean are expected to be affected by Franklin, as is the immediate case of Puerto Rico, which will be impacted by the proximity of the storm, with hundreds of rains even greater than those predicted for its arrival in Hispaniola, between 50 and 100 mm of rainfall.