Abinader visits areas impacted by floods in Gaspar Hernandez

Gaspar Hernández. – President Luis Abinader instructed the immediate intervention of all affected areas in the municipality of Gaspar Hernández, following the intense rains that caused the overflow of the Joba River, and arranged compensation for families and merchants who registered losses.

The president toured the affected areas to speak with the municipal authorities and learn firsthand the magnitude of the damage. During the tour, he expressed his solidarity with those affected and assured that, from the beginning of the situation, the Government activated the response to the emergencies.

You may be interested in: President Luis Abinader will visit Gaspar Hernández

He reported that many homes cannot be rehabilitated because they are in vulnerable areas, so he instructed to compensate their residents, as well as the merchants who suffered losses. “They are going to be given special assistance to move because we don’t do anything to help rebuild a home in a vulnerable area so that in two years the same thing happens,” the president expressed. Likewise, he instructed the director of the National Institute of Hydraulic Resources (Indrhi), Olmedo Caba, to build a gabion wall to protect the communities from future floods of the tributary and the creation of a promenade to guarantee greater safety for the locals. The Head of State pointed out that what happened last week is one of the consequences of climate change, which causes more intense rainfall in shorter periods. He indicated that, in addition to the gabion wall and the upstream intervention, the drainage will be adapted to mitigate risks.

“We are living in a very special time; we have seen that the rains occur in shorter periods and with greater intensity. That is also part of global warming, of the changes we have seen here in the Dominican Republic and in other parts of the world”, he stated.

Faced with this reality, he stressed that the Government must react according to these changes and focus on the urgent, ensuring that those affected receive official aid, including farmers who recorded losses due to the floods. The president reported that he expects to have the exact quantification of the damages and the amounts required for reconstruction and compensation this Wednesday.

“The Economic Dining Halls are also constantly helping to ensure that there is no situation with the issue of food and belongings of those affected. We have to determine who should move and change housing”, he indicated.

Prior to the tour, the Head of State held a meeting with national and municipal authorities to learn about the magnitude of the damage and coordinate response actions. There, he was informed about damage to several Primary Care Centers and school infrastructure, whose immediate intervention was ordered. After concluding the meeting, the ruler inspected the bridge, the Lions’ Cave, and other areas impacted by the tributary’s rise. President Abinader was accompanied by the Minister of Housing and Buildings, Víctor -Ito- Bisonó; the governor, Patricia Muñoz Salcedo and the heads of the National Health Service (SNS), Julio Landrón; of the National Institute of Hydraulic Resources (Indhri), Olmedo Caba, of the Directorate of Social Assistance and Community Food (Dasac), Edgar Augusto Félix Méndez; the director of the Moca Aqueduct and Sewerage Corporation (Coraamoca), Sandy Mendez and representing the administrative minister of the presidency Andrés Bautista, Enmanuel Bautista.