Santo Domingo.- The Emergency Operations Center (COE) increased this Monday afternoon to twenty-one the provinces on alert, thirteen on yellow and eight on green, due to the passage of the tropical wave and warned of “very significant rainfall accumulations” for Wednesday and Thursday.
This way the provinces on yellow alert are: La Vega, San Pedro de Macorís, San Juan, San Cristóbal, San José de Ocoa, Pedernales, Santo Domingo, Peravia, Azua, Distrito Nacional, La Altagracia, Barahona and La Romana.
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Also on green alert are: Sánchez Ramírez, Samaná, Monseñor Nouel, María Trinidad Sánchez, Santiago, Hato Mayor, Monte Plata and El Seibo.
According to the COE, the tropical wave has a high probability of becoming a tropical cyclone in the next 24 to 48 hours and is expected to continue moving west in the coming hours.
The system has a 90% chance of cyclonic development over the next seven days.
“The worst-case scenario is that this system passes over national territory, but even without passing over national territory, we are going to have very significant accumulated rainfall, especially towards the Caribbean coast,” warned the director of the Dominican Institute of Meteorology (Indomet), Gloria Ceballos, in a press conference with the COE.
In addition, Ceballos indicated that these rains will occur in both the most optimistic and the most pessimistic scenarios.
“European models indicate that it could move south, leaving accumulations exceeding 300mm,” said the engineer, who pointed out by way of comparison that on November 18, 2023, the accumulations “exceeded 400 mm in the National District.”
According to the “most pessimistic” American studies, the system would pass over the island of Hispaniola.
For his part, the director of the COE, Juan Manuel Méndez, pointed out that from “this moment the COE declares itself in permanent session and activates its contingency plans to their maximum expression.”
In addition, Manuel Méndez announced that the population can call “in any situation” to the following phone numbers: 911; 809 472 0909; 809 773 4447 (the director of COE’s cell phone) or 809 472 0909 (COE’s phone with automatic jump).
The COE director urged “not to let your guard down” and “to refrain from crossing rivers, streams or ravines that present large volumes of water, whether by vehicle or on foot”.
