Haiti and the Dominican Republic have issued alerts as Tropical Storm Franklin threatens their shared island of Hispaniola, warning of potential flash floods and landslides.
On Tuesday morning (August 22), the US National Hurricane Center issued an advisory indicating that the tropical storm was projected to make landfall on the southern part of Hispaniola on Wednesday.
A day earlier, the storm was positioned approximately 240 miles (390 kilometers) south of the Dominican Republic’s capital, Santo Domingo, with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph (85 kph).
The agency anticipated that Puerto Rico would receive around 4 inches (10 cm) of rain as the storm traversed through the region.
Forecasters predict that the storm, moving at 6 mph (9 kph) westward, will make a sharp northward turn late on Monday or early Tuesday.
The US weather agency also cautioned that the tropical storm could bring heavy rainfall of up to 10 inches (25 cm) to both countries, with specific areas possibly experiencing as much as 15 inches (38 cm).
The forecast underscored the risk of “significant and potentially life-threatening flash flooding over Hispaniola through Wednesday.”
However, concerns are particularly elevated for Haiti due to its vulnerable infrastructure. The country’s past experience with Hurricane Matthew in 2016, which claimed the lives of around 546 individuals and left 1.4 million others requiring humanitarian assistance, underscores the potential impact of this storm.
Notably, Tropical Storm Franklin is the fourth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season to emerge in two days, marking the seventh tropical cyclone to achieve tropical storm strength in 2023.
The Caribbean and Atlantic Ocean region witnessed an unusual occurrence on Monday, with three tropical storms simultaneously present. While Tropical Storm Emily dissipated into a post-tropical cyclone on Monday, and Gert had a short duration.
In response to the approaching storm, the Dominican Republic announced the closure of schools, government offices, and businesses by midday on Tuesday, with plans to reopen on Thursday. Nearly half of the Dominican Republic’s 31 provinces were placed under red alert status as the storm drew near.
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