Government calls for normalcy after Melissa's passage
The government called on the population, as well as all public and private institutions, this Sunday afternoon to return to normal operations after four days of shutdowns due to the passage of Hurricane Melissa, currently a hurricane in the Caribbean Sea. The four provinces on red alert are excluded from the call .
The announcement was made by the director of the Emergency Operations Center ( COE ), Juan Manuel Méndez , at a press conference at the National Palace led by the President of the Republic, Luis Abinader , along with relief agencies.
- The provinces of Barahona , Bahoruco, Independencia and Pedernales remain on red alert .
"Our Government calls for the country to return to normal , except for the alert levels in the provinces of Barahona , Pedernales , Independencia and Bahoruco, which are on red alert ," Méndez said.
"These provinces must continue to adhere to the restrictions imposed for the provinces on red alert for about four days now. That is, employment and education must be suspended for the duration of this alert level," he said.
Ministries must issue resolutionsThe official added: "With regard to the other provinces we just mentioned, all are returning to normal , and naturally, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Public Administration, and the Ministry of Labor must issue the appropriate resolutions to return to normal in the areas of labor , education, public administration, and private sector."
Elaborating on the topic, the president said that, with the exception of those provinces , "the entire country is now heading toward a process of normality ."
"So, starting this afternoon and starting tomorrow, the country, largely with the exception of the four provinces we mentioned, should be returning to normal all its activities," Abinader emphasized.
The president emphasized that electricity generation has remained at 98% levels over the past four days and also said: "We now need to normalize the water sector, the aqueducts with Inapa and the CAASD with Greater Santo Domingo."
However, the governor clarified to the public that they must remain vigilant because, although Melissa is outside the country, "there may also be precipitation in some parts of the country."
He reiterated that the government will continue to assist vulnerable populations and "those who have suffered harm."
"We're going to help those whose homes and belongings have been damaged, and also many of the informal workers who have been working every day, who have had their work interrupted during these days, just as we have been doing," he indicated.
The COE maintained yellow alert levels for the National District and 12 provinces: San José de Ocoa, Samaná, Dajabón, Azua, Monte Plata, Elías Piña, San Cristóbal, San Juan, Peravia, Monseñor Nouel, Santo Domingo, and La Altagracia.
While these 14 provinces are in green : La Vega, Santiago Rodriguez, Maria Trinidad Sanchez, Santiago, Espaillat, Duarte, Hermanas Mirabal, Monsignor Nouel, Sanchez Ramirez, San Pedro de Macoris, La Romana, El Seibo and Hato Mayor.
Melissa is currently a Category 4 hurricane and was located about 167 kilometers south of Kingston, Jamaica, in the afternoon. It remained a tropical storm during the days it impacted the Dominican Republic.
The director of the Dominican Institute of Meteorology (Indomet), Gloria Ceballos, reported that Hurricane Melissa is moving west at about seven kilometers per hour.
"It's important to note that this slow movement is what has allowed us to perceive the rains that have occurred across the country," Ceballos explained.
He added that the system will move over Jamaica this Monday, exit on Tuesday, then affect southeastern Cuba and then move into the open Atlantic Ocean.
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