With Tropical Storm Isaac hovering off the east coast of the island Dominicans will remember the havoc caused by another tropical system on September 28, 2011.
By the time Tropical Storm Ophelia neared Dominica it had lost most of the strength it gained as it raced across the Atlantic – the 15th named tropical storm of the 2011 Hurricane Season.
However it still packed a powerful punch of heavy rainfall and Dominica suffered dearly because of it.
Communities all along the island’s western coast were inundated by heavy rains. Particularly hard hit were the communities of Canefield, Mahaut, Massacre, Layou and St. Joseph. Many were left stranded for hours while other braved high waters to reach home. A bus transporting students from Belles got stuck in rising waters in the Layou area but everyone got out safely.
In October 2011 Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said more than 170 homes were affected on the West Coast from St Joseph to Checkhall and said $800,000 was to be made available for the affected areas.
As Dominicans await Isaac’s arrival, the collective hope is that the storm will be a lot more merciful to us than his fellow tempest, Ophelia.
Follow link below for DNO’s coverage of Ophelia.
Also see video below of the damage wrought by Ophelia.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0faTeEJnS8
Am pretty sure McMarie is going to sue over this.
Oh yeah this one was a shocker. Was feeling that it was passing away from us so everything would be okay. Boy did I stay with my mouth open.
Consider who is in charge. We have so many bad a??? but the real person in control is God and every now and then he reminds us of that fact. Dominicans! PRAY!PRAY! Holy MARY FULL OF GRACE HAVE MERCY ON US!
yes i
well i’m lucky to live in an area where this can’t happen…………..
you show it will happean to you some day and it would not be nice
Tiny, disaster can happen any-time, any place anywhere. Never be too confident that where you are cannot be affected by a natural disaster. Just pray for God’s protection, and thank Him for His bountiful mercy.
and again i will say people building where should have been restricted form building………….