Tropical Storm Franklin unleashed heavy floods and landslides in the Dominican Republic on Wednesday, August 23, after making landfall in the country's southern region, killing at least one person and leaving two others missing.
The storm began to slowly spin away late Wednesday afternoon from the island of Hispaniola that the Dominican Republic shares with Haiti after dumping heavy rain for several hours.
Forecasters warned the storm could drop up to 30 centimeters of rain in the Dominican Republic, with a maximum of 41 centimeters for the country's western and central regions. Meanwhile, up to 10 centimeters of rain are forecast for Haiti, with nearly 20 centimeters for the country's eastern regions.
“The population of the Dominican Republic must all be right now, without exception, in their homes, the homes of friends and family, or in shelters,” said Juan Manuel Méndez, emergency operations director.
The Civil Defense said a man identified as Carlos Marino Martínez died in the city of San Cristobal after being swept away by floodwaters. The agency initially said he was one of its volunteers, but later corrected the information saying it misidentified a uniform he was wearing. They did not provide further details. Two women in that city also were injured following a landslide, officials said.
More than 350 people were huddled in shelters in the Dominican Republic, where emergency operations officials said they were looking for a 54-year-old man with mental health problems who went missing after he jumped into a creek late Tuesday. Meanwhile, José Luis Cabrera with the Civil Defense agency told Noticias SIN that a teenage boy is missing after a river swept him away on Wednesday. “Six of them jumped in, and one of them didn't make it back,” he said.
Another 280 people were evacuated from their homes to safer ground, with at least six communities cut off by heavy rains, officials said.
The storm also downed several trees and at least two light posts, with dozens of homes affected by floods that turned streets into rushing rivers. Authorities said the roof of one home in San Cristobal collapsed, as did walls of various buildings around the country. “There's a lot of damage,” Méndez said.
The UN’s World Food Program warned Wednesday that some 125,000 people in the Dominican Republic are living in areas that "are extremely vulnerable to landslides and flash floods because they live in poor, overcrowded settlements near rivers, creeks, and lagoons."
In the Caribbean, officials were most concerned about Franklin’s impact in Haiti, which is prone to catastrophic flooding given the country’s severe erosion. "Haiti is among the most vulnerable countries in the world when it comes to the effects of extreme weather," said Jean-Martin Bauer, the World Food Program's director for Haiti. In June, a powerful thunderstorm that unleashed heavy rains left more than 40 people dead across the country.