Rains from Chantal cause one death and more than 6000 displaced persons

SD. The tropical storm Chantal departed the national territory, leaving in its passage one fatality and some 6,563 displaced persons, 933 affected houses, flooding and torrential rains which will continue today but will be less fewer during the course of the day.

The forecast by the National Meteorological Office (Onamet) indicates that the country will continue to be dominated by the effects of the cloud cover associated with Chantal. Yesterday the storm weakened into a tropical depression and last night it was located some 370 kilometers to the east-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica.

The remainder of the storm will cause moderate to heavy rains, some thunder and lightning and wind bursts all over the country, especially along the Caribbean coastline and to the south of the Central Mountains.

Given this situation, the Onamet is maintaining its advisory against flash floods, overflows from rivers and streams as well as landslides for all the high risk areas, especially the localities towards the southern part of the Central Mountains including the entire Caribbean coastline.

The Onamet also noted that conditions at sea continue to deteriorate along the Atlantic and Caribbean coasts, so that shipping should stay in harbor.

According to the forecasts, during the day, today, they expect between two and eight inches (2" to 8") of rains, with the most rain falling in isolated regions of the mountains toward the Southwest and the southern slopes of the Central Mountains.

The meteorological scenario has allowed the Center for Emergency Operations (COE) to maintain all 32 provinces under alert. On a Red Alert are La Altagracia, San Cristobal, Peravia (Bani), San Pedro de Macoris, La Romana, Azua, Barahona, Pedernales, Santo Domingo and the National District.

Provinces under a yellow alert increased from 11 to 16: Duarte, La Vega, María Trinidad Sánchez, Sánchez Ramírez, El Seibo, Hato Mayor, Monte Plata, Samaná, Bahoruco, San José de Ocoa, San Juan de la Maguana, Independencia, Monsignor Nouel, Puerto Plata, Espaillat and Montecristi.

On green alert are Hermanas Mirabal (Salcedo), Santiago, Dajabon, Santiago Rodriguez, Valverde, and Elias Piña.

One fatality and thousands displaced

The COE director, General Juan Manuel Mendez Garcia, reported that fireman Juan Ramirez, 26, in the locality of Piedra Blanca, province of Monsignor Nouel, died when he was swept away by flood waters as he tried to unplug a sewer.

Likewise, he pointed out that the number of persons displaced totaled 6,563. Of these 36 were sheltered in official shelters and the rest in houses of family and friends. At the same time 933 houses were affected by flooding in sectors of Greater Santo Domingo, Villa Altagracia, La Vega and Samana.

In San Cristobal there were reports of localities such as Medina, La Cuchilla, Lecheria, Mayor de Ley, La Guajima, Maizal, Reparadero and Barrio Chino being cut off due to the flooding of the Yuna River. In Duarte province the communities of Los Contreras, Los Peinados, Juana Rodriguez and Loma Colorado were also cut off.

In the meantime, Luis Cuevas, spokesman for the National Dam and Reservoir Committee, assured reporters that the water levels at the dams are under control although at least two of them are operating at maximum capacity.

Chantal weakens and is reduced to a tropical wave

Tropical Storm Chantal faded away yesterday and weaken into a tropical wave, although it still could cause heavy rains and winds up to 75 kph, reported the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida.

In their 2100 GMT bulletin, they indicated that Chantal was some 415 kilometers to the Southeast of Cuba, having left Haiti and the Dominican Republic behind.

The ‘hurricane hunter' aircraft sent to the area by the NHC found that Chantal "has weakened into a tropical wave" that will move over the eastern part of Cuba, and tomorrow will reach the Northwest of the Bahamas and Florida. The governments of Jamaica and the Bahamas have cancelled their storm watches.