Dominican Republic – The center of Tropical Storm Franklin has exited the Dominican territory. The country seems to have weathered the worst of it. It braced for days, anxious about this unstable phenomenon. Franklin will continue to bring mainly rain to the eastern parts of the Republic.
The National Meteorological Office (Onamet) has lifted tropical storm warnings from Pedernales to Punta Palenque. However, warnings remain in place from Punta Palenque to Montecristi. Recent satellite images reveal compact cloud activity causing moderate to heavy downpours, strong winds, and electrical storms in provinces like San Pedro de Macorís, La Romana, La Altagracia, El Seibo, Hato Mayor, and Samaná. The rest of the country remains overcast but with less frequent rain.
Areas still under the influence of the storm may experience gradual or sudden flooding of rivers, streams, and ravines. It’s vital to heed the guidelines from official authorities. Track Franklin’s rains accurately on weather maps via the Zoom Earth website. The gray areas indicate cloudy skies in different parts of the Dominican Republic. Light blue areas show rainfall between 0.1 and 0.5 mm/h, while bluer areas between Santo Domingo and Punta Cana indicate rainfall between 1 and 3 mm/h.
The large orange and red area to the east of the country represents bands of intense rainfall in the storm’s northern influence area. The rest of the Caribbean, where cyclones, troughs, tropical waves, or tropical depressions often originate, currently enjoys clear weather, promising a calm week without rain threats over the Dominican Republic.
Despite Tropical Storm Franklin moving away from the island into the Atlantic Ocean by Thursday, its indirect effects will continue to bring moderate to heavy downpours, electrical storms, and strong wind gusts to much of the country. On Friday, the moisture and instability left by the storm will cause moderate to heavy downpours, especially in the southeast, northeast, Central Cordillera, and border regions.
Operators of fragile, small, and medium-sized vessels should stay in port on the Atlantic and Caribbean coasts due to strong winds and abnormal waves. At a press conference at the Emergency Operations Center on Wednesday afternoon, President Abinader presented a preliminary report on damages caused by Tropical Storm Franklin. Despite videos showing flooding in various parts of the country, the COE reported that 547 houses were affected, but none were destroyed. 280 people were relocated to safe areas, 15 shelters were opened, and 351 individuals sought refuge in shelters.
Additionally, 2,760 roads were affected, and 6 communities were cut off. Regarding the disappearance of an individual who allegedly threw themselves into the Guajimía ravine in East Santo Domingo, General Juan Manuel Méndez García, director of the COE, stated that it was not related to the effects of the storm.
Based on the outcome of Tropical Storm Franklin’s passage, President Abinader announced that the country should reopen starting from Thursday, as there is no longer any risk. However, he emphasized that each family should exercise caution if any community remains isolated. “Starting tomorrow, schools, as well as all commercial, industrial, and business activities throughout the country, must be open,” Abinader declared during the press conference at the Emergency Operations Center.