Puerto Plata - Weather Report

[planner]

it's done now.

[planner]

What a night we had. Once the worst of it was over, we still managed to get a bit more rain over night, but not that thundering downpour we experienced.

Today is another story. We have bright blue skies once again, it is 82F and there is no breeze.

Have a great day.

[Sharlene]

My partner was trying to get home to me and our 2 little girls in Sosua after working away for 2 weeks on a boat and docking at Oceanworld. He couldn't get back last Friday and he missed our daughter's 5th Birthday so he left port at 5.30pm last night loaded with presents and was still struggling through the rain and hadn't gone more than about 100m by 6.30pm. He couldn't see a thing, the traffic was at a standstill and there was garbage floating down the flooded streets. The girls were so excited about seeing him, but he had to turn back and then it took him about another hour to get back to the port. People were doing crazy things in the traffic trying to get `one up' on each other and he said it was a nightmare. At one point he thought he'd have to sleep in the car (on his only night off). We were so upset.....

.....but the weather this morning was bright and lovely and the captain of the boat let him come back for ONE hour at 8am, which was better than not seeing him at all......

I hope the weather's not raining like that next Friday, because it's the last we'll see of him for 7 weeks.....

[dv8]

we spent all this rain in farmacia and when the water running down the hill in the barrio reached the steps we decided it was time to go home. before we closed the rain has stopped. barrio road is being fixed and is full of stones, when we came outside stones size of a football (european, not american...) were tossed all over street and pavement.
we dropped the staff off and on a way back minovio let me drive - streets were slippery and more holes but is was not too bad - that is untill we reached the condominium. just when i turned from the malecon the luz died - completely pitch black. btw - how do you turn on long lights?
anyway, the car coming out had it's long lights on and blinded me completely. when it passed i saw we were in the water, reaching our door! the cars were stuck in the middle of the driveway and minivio had to help me manouvre between them. turned out the whole reception was flooded, water came in through the door - it's up the stairs, about a meter above ground. the cement drive (you know, this piece of cement put on so you can drive up the pavement) was torn apart, pieces scattered on the parking. gate in the back of the complex was opened by the water running in the street behind. with no electricity and only our car lights on it looked like a complete disaster! swimming pool is filled with mud, water flooded ground floor.
we have a gotera in our apartment but luckily we were not flooded. i was worried about the cat - of course he slept through it all!
does anyone have any info in regards to the damage done? were there any victims?

[planner]

Update:

Lots of crews working on cleaning up the debris all over the place. Various neighbourhoods (barrios) were flooded, rivers and creeks overflowing everywhere. Puerto Plata is built on a hillside and all water flows towards the harbour. That whole area and all low lying areas were a mess. Today they are drying out.

I have not heard of any deaths or major injuries in this area. But Santiago and Santo Domingo were also hit. The highway from Santiago to the north coast is a mess!

Currently the skies are overcast and hopefully we won't see a repeat of last night.

[Lambada]

Originally Posted by dv8

does anyone have any info in regards to the damage done? were there any victims?

Two people alleged to have disappeared, one in a fast running rivulet and the other fell down a hole on Avenida Manolo Tavarez Justo, the main road, where the roadworks are......... Presumably didn't see it because it was covered by water. My guess is these will remain at 'missing' status until they find evidence to the contrary and that is going to be pretty difficult if the main road hole led to a sewer and thus to the sea.......... Photgraphs of floods here:
Defensa Civil confirma que 30 viviendas quedaron destruidas por las lluvias
Scroll down on this one:
Puerto Plata Digital

Puerto Plata Digital

Full marks to the Mayor of Puerto Plata, Civil Defence, Red Cross, Fire Dept.etc for getting the clean up effort underway so quickly, plus distributing ice, water & food. Last night we were comparing speed of response with that of first world countries faced with similar problems and the DR scored pretty highly. There are still some communities cut off here and the one thing the rescue efforts can't do as well as first world countries is liaise with those, simply for lack of air power. But everything else is showing high motivation & co-ordination.

And yes we're expecting more of the same (rain!) but maybe not so heavy. It appears to be a stalled out front, so basically it won't stop until the front moves on.

[planner]

We started the day with sunshine but by 1pm the clouds had rolled in and the drizzle started. We had a bit of thunder and some rain but it has stopped again. Let's hope this is all we get. We do not need any more rain.

I understand the sun is shining in Santo Domingo and Santiago so hopefully this system is leaving the country!

Lambada, thanks for the great info.

Have a great day.

[planner]

Unlike the past few days, we are not starting with sunshine. We have cloud cover this morning. IT is only about 79 F right now, so somewhat below average. There is no breeze either.

We did have more rain last night but it is dry at the moment.

Have a great day.

[BushBaby]

Originally Posted by planner

We started the day with sunshine but by 1pm the clouds had rolled in and the drizzle started. We had a bit of thunder and some rain but it has stopped again. Let's hope this is all we get. We do not need any more rain.

I understand the sun is shining in Santo Domingo and Santiago so hopefully this system is leaving the country!

Have a great day.

planner,
If you check this site every morning you can get an idea of what weather is likely to be coming our way.
Intellicast's Atlantic Loop for UnitedStates

This gives an overall picture of the west side of the Atlantic. It is a 'rolling' picture of what has happened over the past hours & (consequently) shows what might be in store for the area!

For a more detailed view of the Caribbean, check
Intellicast's Caribbean Loop for UnitedStates

I think you will find there is a very good chance of more headed our way for the next few days!!

You could then sign off saying "Stay safe" or "Stay Dry everyone" ~ Grahame.

[Gaskit]

Hi planner
hows the clean up operation going