Hurricane Gustav .. was Tropical Storm Gustav

[Matilda]

Rained very heavily in Juan Dolio on and off all night. Still very overcast with light winds, constant drizzle and some bursts of heavier rain. Many locals flooded out of their homes and back roads flooded.

Matilda

[Dolores]

The government called school off today. Nevertheless, private schools were open as the notice didn't come until this morning. Sent my daughter to school this morning. It was the first day of school. By the number of cars, I could perceive many chose not to go.

[Chirimoya]

I spoke to a friend in Santo Domingo who works at an international agency this morning. They are receiving reports of 'devastation' from Barahona, and expect the government to declare a state of emergency in the province.

[MikeFisher]

i have sorrily no contact to someone in Barahona,
but would assume that they got huge rainloads and that rain is not over yet.
like Chris said, even when the rain get's a bit less for a short time, the watertime for the southwest is sure not over, yet.
on the east still all dry,
it is cloudy,
wind came back a bit,
blowing 11 knots at one moment, dead for a while, and right away up blowing.
but no rainloads, no danger for anybody caused by the storm,
let's stay updated about the areas where the system is causing danger.
Mike

[Marilyn]

Originally Posted by Chirimoya

I spoke to a friend in Santo Domingo who works at an international agency this morning. They are receiving reports of 'devastation' from Barahona, and expect the government to declare a state of emergency in the province.

Hi Chiri, do you have any idea where the devastation is? I haven't been able to get through to my friends in Bahoruco, on the coast of Barahona, usually the damage there is from strong waves coming from the Caribbean sea, whereas in areas such as Jaquimeyes, Tamayo, Vicente Noble, the devastation is caused by Yaque del Sur river. I was in Barahona this weekend and on saturday we drove through the bateyes, Tamayo, Neyba and Cabral and we could already see swamps where the terrain is usually desert-like dry, then Saturday night there was a powerful storm with heavy wind gusts, it rained hard all night. On my way to Santo Domingo on Sunday I noticed that the Yaque del Sur was already growing and the soil was saturated. I also noticed that the parts where Noel caused more damage have not been repaired, so they are very vulnerable.

[jalencastro]

as i look out the window of my hotel room in Santo Domingo i see moderate rain and street flooding. went out last night when it was eerily calm and quiet....then the rain started coming down in BUCKETS and hasnt stopped since really. 10am today had some heavy morning rain too, it has calmed down some, but the damage is visible with garbage and or flooding on street sides.....very bad driving conditions on the east side of Santo Domingo....looks like my vacation to the north will be cancelled as i will not drive in these conditions....ugh

[Chirimoya]

Marilyn: this is an unconfirmed report, so let's wait for someone on the ground to let us know what is happening. If you know the area, you know the most vulnerable communities, which have been affected in the past, like the ones you mention. I hope all the disaster preparedness work going on down there (in Peñon, Salinas and Quita Coraza) has some positive results.

[jalencastro]

just listening to the news on CDN, 4500 + people have supposedly been evacuated from the southern coast line, from Barahona all the way to San Pedro de Macoris....they are expecting the worst. i have not heard anything on the news about devestation in Barahona, i just pray that everyone hangs in there and help each other....my first time ever being caught in a storm like this

[TracyMarshRN]

Hello, I live in the US, and my son who is 19 years old is living in Barahona until November. I haven't heard from him since Monday morning. He was heading 1/2 hour north to work on a shrimp farm for a few days. If anyone has any info of the situation in that area, I would appreciate it very much.

[Dolores]

Originally Posted by jalencastro

....looks like my vacation to the north will be cancelled as i will not drive in these conditions....ugh

Wait to see if someone reports on the highway condition and on Samana. Do not cancel yet.