Deadly Flooding Strikes the Dominican Republic

Facts

• In the last 48 hours, torrential storms have caused flooding, destroyed homes, and damaged infrastructure in the Dominican Republic. President Luis Abinader called the weather the 'largest rainfall event ever' in the history of the nation.¹
• The excessive rainfall over the weekend led to at least 21 deaths in the Caribbean island nation, including three children.¹
• The storm damaged roads and bridges and caused power outages, displacing more than 13K people, who the country's Emergency Operations Center says were evacuated to a more secure location.²
• Without providing specific numbers, President Abinader mentioned 'extensive and substantial' damages and said, 'Those who do not believe in climate change, start believing.'³
• Four of the deceased were reportedly US citizens and three were residents of neighboring Haiti.⁴
• Media reports also stated that at least four people were killed in Haiti, and two others are missing after heavy downpours led to flooding across the island of Hispaniola. Health authorities warned that the wet conditions could lead to a further spread of cholera, which is already plaguing Haiti.⁵

Sources: ¹Le Monde.fr, ²Al Jazeera, ³France 24, ⁴MSN and ⁵Newsweek.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Newsweek. Small island nations like the Dominican Republic are particularly vulnerable to the extreme downpours associated with climate change since they often do not have the infrastructure to withstand these incredible forces of nature. It's vital that these nations bolster their preparedness planning and resilient infrastructure in the face of an onslaught of climate threats.
• Narrative B, as provided by FT. It's easy to dismiss any extreme weather event as a consequence of climate change, but in reality, they're usually influenced by a myriad of factors that have nothing to do with it. More research is needed before we can establish any direct causal link between the two.

Predictions