Aid Begins To Arrive for Rain Victims in the Dominican Republic

On Wednesday, the Dominican government began distributing aid to families affected by the heavy rains that have been affecting several provinces of the country since Monday.

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The Administrative Minister of the Presidency, Igor Rodriguez, visited Wednesday the affected areas in the Samana province (northeast of the country), where the Civil Defense reported so far some 225 houses with damage in Arroyo Seco, El Valle, La Laguna, Las Terrenas and Santa Barbara de Samana.

Rodriguez said that these families are already receiving food, wood and zinc, as well as household goods so that they can return to normality.

The director of the Social Assistance Plan of the Presidency, Yadira Henríquez, reported that more than 20,000 food rations prepared in the mobile kitchens of the Economic Kitchens have been distributed.

The tweet reads, "Good morning. Occasional cloud increases with scattered showers, isolated thundershowers and wind gusts will continue to occur in different provinces of the northeast, southeast (including the GSD), southeast, Central Cordillera and the border area due to the northeasterly wind and local effects, as well as the humidity and instability left by the passage of the trough. The trough continues to move away from our forecast area. Due to the rains and the forecasted rains, 21 provinces remain under weather alert and warning."

According to the mayor of Samaná, Eduardo Esteban, more than 65 percent of the municipality of Las Terrenas is flooded as a result of the rainfall.

Esteban described the situation as critical and said that houses have collapsed, roads have been damaged, and in some neighborhoods it has not been possible to enter.

For his part, Major General Juan Manuel Méndez, director of the Emergency Operations Centre (COE), urged families to be attentive to information from security agencies, and added that, as on other occasions, the government's response has been rapid, and they have counted on the cooperation of the people.

In Puerto Plata, some 207 kilometers from the capital, the municipalities and districts affected are Sosúa, Montellano, Imbert, San Felipe de Puerto Plata, Maimón and Yásica Arriba.

The National Meteorological Office reported in its latest bulletin that weather conditions will remain unstable due to a trough located near Puerto Rico with eastward movement, which together with the wind from the east / northeast, will lead to rain in the northeast, southeast, Central Cordillera and border area.