Subtropical Storm OLGA was Late Season Tropical Depression 94

[old_conejo]

Hi: I am sorry to hear about all this devastation....

I hate to ask at such a time when people are trying to get their lives back together but my wife and I are flying in to Punta Cana on Friday...can anyone tell me how bad or spared is the area...the beach...the roads.

We will be driving from Punta Cana to Puerto Plata on Monday...I know that before the devastation there was a great road but what about now?

Thanks and again I don't want to antagonize anyone.

[Chirimoya]

Anyone heard if schools are open tomorrow (Thursday)?

[Chip]

As HB noted, more than 5000 cms (200,000 cfs) is a great deal of water. To put that in perspective, the average daily flow for the Mississippi River is only three times more at the mouth at New Orleans. This for a river that is considerably longer than the Yaque at more than 2000 miles long and drains 40% of the land area of the US, not to mention at least a hundred times more area than the Yaque River basin.

[Chris]

Originally Posted by old_conejo

Hi: I am sorry to hear about all this devastation....

I hate to ask at such a time when people are trying to get their lives back together but my wife and I are flying in to Punta Cana on Friday...can anyone tell me how bad or spared is the area...the beach...the roads.

We will be driving from Punta Cana to Puerto Plata on Monday...I know that before the devastation there was a great road but what about now?

Thanks and again I don't want to antagonize anyone.

Yes, it is difficult to think about people that are planning a vacation and the posters on the board sometimes do 'fly off the handle'. Many of us are quite heart broken. But really, we do understand that life goes on and wish you a relaxing vacation. Punta Cana is fine. If you look through this whole thread, somewhere there is a Punta Cana Report. I don't think anyone has driven from Punta Cana to Puerto Plata today, but the road should be fine - just be cautious. Drive in the daylight for sure.

Bring a whole suitcase or two full of extra kids clothes and gifts and drop it off in Santiago, OK. There are a whole lot of kids that won't have Christmas.

[marliejaneca]

Originally Posted by Chirimoya

Anyone heard if schools are open tomorrow (Thursday)?

I don't know if this helps, Chiri, but this is from DR1 news today:

Schools close for Olga
The Ministry of Education has ordered all schools to close for an "indefinite" period due to Tropical Storm Olga. Deputy Education Minister Fausto Mota Garcia told reporters that he was following orders from Minister Alejandrina German, who was in Argentina yesterday. Students taking final exams were advised not to worry, as the exams will be held at the next convenient date. According to the official school calendar, schoolchildren go on Christmas vacation on 21 December. Private schools are reporting there will be classes tomorrow and that they will be closing earlier than the official date.

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[Chirimoya]

Looks like it's back to school for non-affected areas tomorrow, according to Diario Libre.

Noticias - Reanudan mañana la docencia en las zonas no afectadas

[Hillbilly]

The answer to ??Why is it still raining in Santiago?? question:Tropical Floater One AVN Color Imagery - Satellite Services Division

And tomorrow my daughter goes to PUJ from STI, by car....

Should be interesting...

HB

[Ladybird]

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[Lambada]

Originally Posted by Hillbilly

4) engineers know that at 500 cu Mt per sec, there is a good possibility of flooding in low-laying areas. Most of the day saw 1300 cu mt/sec being discharged, AFTER periods of 5000, and 3000 cu mts./sec FYI: 5000 cu mt/sec = 78,000,000 gallons!!/hour)

THEY KNEW

HB

Yes they DID & they have admitted they knew:

'As heavy rains overwhelmed the Tavera Dam near Santiago, the country's second-largest city, officials decided to release water to prevent the dam from collapsing, said Octavio Rodriguez, a civil defense official on the committee that decided to flood the river.

By midnight Tuesday (0400 GMT Wednesday), all of the dam's doors were open and 1.6 million gallons (6.1 million liters) were pouring through every second.

"We knew the damage we were going to cause below. We did not want to, but we had to," Rodriguez told The Associated Press. In light of the potential catastrophe of a dam collapse, he called the resulting death toll "acceptable." (emboldening mine)

This is an AP report from the International Herald Tribune.
Flooding from Tropical Storm Olga kills at least 14 in Caribbean - International Herald Tribune

It would appear that the dam didn't need to be kept at 324.11 metres ( some 8 metres above the safe level of 316 metres) in order to function - the minimum water level required for hydroelectric operation is 309 metres according to Luis Arthur.

HB, you're a student of history - look at what Luis Arthur wrote in 2004 referring back to David in 1979 in La Presa De Tavera – Benedicion y Amenaza para Santiago
LA PRESA DE TAVERAS – ESPADA DE DAMOCLES SOBRE SANTIAGO

Had they done what SantiagoDR suggested on another thread, slow release over a couple of days, they wouldn't have 'had' to do what they did. 'We had to' in my view is an excuse for 'we didn't think about this & plan it sufficiently ahead of time to release water in a safer way'. Had they kept the dam functioning at a 309 metre level days before they wouldn't have been caught on the hop. Or are the inhabitants down the river path expendable? Or their deaths 'acceptable' as Octavio Rodriguez said?

[Bob K]

"collateral damage" in war is acceptable to some. But this is insanity.

Bob K