Final Hazards Report

May 17, 2023

Thank you fellow bloggers for following me on this journey while I learned so much about the Dominican Republic! In this final blog post I will summarize the main natural hazards that occur in the DR, followed by my recommendations and further reflections. For many, the Dominican Republic is a tropical vacation destination, but for 11.12 million Dominicans it is home and its beauty and resources deserve to be preserved and protected. While this blog journey is coming to an end, our journey to combat climate change has only just begun!

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The Dominican Republic is a hurricane prone country and experiences an average of 2 hurricanes per year. This is largely because hurricanes develop near the equator over warm ocean waters and low air pressure. A more recent hurricane to hit the country was hurricane Fiona on September 19th of 2022. Hurricane Fiona began on September 14 of that year and touched down in the Dominican Republic 5 days later as a category 1 hurricane due to the wind speeds of up to 150 km/hr. Our textbook describes category 1 storms to not have much damage to building structures, and if there is damage it is to poorly constructed buildings, signs, and weak brush, According to DREF plan of action from ifrc.org, about 2,614 homes were impacted, 4 destroyed entirely, 2 deaths, and over 12,000 people displaced.

The U.S. Embassy suggests that people prepare for the storm by stocking up on bottled water, non-perishable items, battery powered radio, and a safe air tight place for important documents. These are especially important because it is likely that water sources can be tainted, power outages will occur, and flooding as well as property damage will occur. UNOCHA provides global emergency response during natural disasters and other humanitarian crises. In collaboration with UNOCHA and the Dominican Republican government, about 13,000 people were relocated to safe areas, and another 1,500 were relocated into shelters, and a continued search and rescue effort took place.

The Dominican Red Cross played a significant role in monitoring the events of the storm as well. This included health, sanitation, psychosocial and water assessments. With this information they also coordinated ways for this information to become accessible to everyone who needed it. They even provided pre-paid phone services, humanitarian kits and response tools, mosquito nets, kitchen kits and so much more to give out to the families displaced by the flooding and hurricane overall.

I would prioritize helping densely populated coastal regions that have increased exposure to flooding, storm surges, power outages etc. The capital, Santo Domingo would be a great start to improve infrastructure such as stronger and more storm resistant homes and public buildings, a more secure power grid, improved storm drainage and more resources for communities. This can include access to clean water and food, power, and essentials such as toothbrushes.

If I were to construct a house in the Dominican Republic, I would be lucky enough to choose Punta Cana as my home. Punta Cana is uniquely less susceptible to the impacts of hurricanes since there is a mountain range between itself and the ocean.