The death toll from the torrential rains that struck the Dominican Republic a week ago has climbed to 30, according to authorities in the Caribbean nation.
The Emergency Operations Center (COE) reported in a recent bulletin that “due to heavy rains, urban and rural flooding, bridge collapses, and the collapse of an underpass, about 30 people lost their lives.”
The heavy rains have also left 55 communities cut off, with 7,060 people relocated to safe areas and 2,591 rescued by emergency services. In Santo Domingo, the capital, a wall collapsed onto several vehicles.
The event was described as the “most significant rainfall ever recorded in the Dominican Republic,” as stated in the bulletin.
In response to the disaster, the Dominican government declared a three-day national mourning period starting on Monday.
Out of the country’s 32 provinces with a population of 10.7 million, one remains on high alert for “potential flash floods… as well as landslides.”
This tragedy follows another weather-related incident in late August, when Tropical Storm Franklin caused two deaths and one person went missing in the Dominican Republic. The storm also led to the evacuation of around 3,000 individuals from hazardous areas.