Tropical Storm Franklin nears the Dominican Republic and Haiti bringing torrential rain
Written by worldOneFm on August 22, 2023
The Dominican Republic has shut down much of the country as Tropical Storm Franklin takes aim at the island of Hispaniola that it shares with Haiti and threatens to unleash landslides and heavy floods.
Authorities in the Dominican Republic shut schools and government offices Tuesday as Tropical Storm Franklin took aim at the island of Hispaniola that it shares with Haiti and threatened to unleash landslides and heavy floods.
The storm was expected to make landfall on the island Wednesday and drop up to 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain in both countries, with up to 15 inches (38 centimeters) in isolated areas. Heavy rainfall is of great concern to Haiti, where severe erosion in many places can lead to catastrophic flooding.
Dominican officials announced the closures of schools, government offices and businesses until Thursday. It also planned to close its main international airport and five others through Wednesday. In Haiti, where a day of heavy rain from a thunderstorm in June left more than 40 people dead, government officials urged caution but did not announce closures, though schools are already shuttered for summer holiday until mid-September.
In the Dominican capital of Santo Domingo, 42-year-old mechanic Pedro Julio de la Cruz said he and his family were mulling whether to stay with relatives who live on higher ground since he and his elderly mother and aunt live near the Ozama River in a community that floods often.
“We haven’t slept much,” he said, noting they were concerned because it started raining Monday night.
By DÁNICA COTO and EVENS SANON
