Heavy rains
21 dead after storms in the Dominican Republic
Rescue teams work at the site where a wall collapsed at the entrance to a tunnel in Santo Domingo. photo
© Eddy Vittini/AP
Among other things, people were killed when walls on a street in the capital collapsed and the rubble fell on cars. The president speaks of the heaviest rainfall in the country’s history.
The heavy rain caused, among other things, floods in several provinces of the country located in the east of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola.
On Saturday alone, nine people were killed when walls on a street in the capital Santo Domingo collapsed and the rubble smashed onto five cars, the newspaper El Nacional reported. In a post on Facebook, President Luis Abinader spoke of the heaviest rains in the country’s history. According to him, schools should remain closed on Monday and Tuesday for safety reasons. Experts should therefore examine the buildings for any damage.
Among the dead were Americans, Haitians and several children, El Nacional reported. The National Civil Protection warned residents, among other things, not to cross rivers and streams. The highest alert level remained in effect for 14 provinces due to the risk of flooding, especially in the south of the country. Haiti lies in the west of the island of Hispaniola.