Excessive rainfall no cause for concern – Senior Met Officer

Dominicans have no need to be fearful due to the amount of rainfall and the number of landslides that the country is now experiencing.

Senior Meteorological Officer Sheryl Leblanc says that while the amount of rainfall to date this year is unusual, it is not at a level that should create any cause for excessive concern.

The Melville Hall Meteorological Office has measured rainfall for the year so far at 909.5 millimeters, which exceeds the 737 millimeter average, but Leblanc points out that there have been years when the rainfall has far exceeded 1100 millimeters by this time of year.

“The amount of rainfall is due to surface troughs and frontal boundaries from North America that have brought this much moisture to the region. But there were years where we had more rainfall than this by May,” she said, referring to 1981, 1982, 1987, 1993, 2002 and 2004.

She continued, “Every quarter the Caribbean Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology put out a forecast for the quarter and this quarter rainfall was expected to be above average. There is no need to be alarmed, save for the increased likelihood of slippage, which is to be expected with any additional rainfall, so people in flood and landslide prone areas should be vigilant.”

According to the Office of Disaster Management, Dominica is particularly susceptible to slippage due to the amount of volcanic activity present as well as soil being saturated with water due to the heavy rainfall.