According to historical records from the Dominican Institute of Meteorology (INDOMET) and the United States National Hurricane Center (NHC), in the last hundred years, between 1925 and 2024the Dominican Republic has only been directly impacted by a tropical cyclone with storm status during the month of November.
The Only Recorded Impact in November: Tropical Storm of 1934
The only recorded event occurred in the 1934 season. A disturbance zone formed in the Atlantic Ocean northeast of the country on November 20. After an initial erratic movement in open waters, the system descended towards the Dominican territory and impacted Puerto Plata on November 28 as Tropical storm.
His passage caused:
- Intense downpours and thunderstorms.
- Abnormal waves on the coast.
- Later, the storm came out Elias Piñain the border area, deteriorating into a depression as it moved through Haiti and dissipating near Jamaica.
It should be noted that the 1934 cyclone season was active, with a total of 13 cyclones formed, of which seven reached hurricane status and six were tropical storms.
Peak of the Cyclonic Season
Although the official hurricane season in the Atlantic, the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico runs from June 1 to November 30meteorological data confirm that the months of September and August They concentrate the greatest threat and the greatest number of direct impacts of tropical cyclones in the country, coinciding with the period of maximum ocean temperature.
Recent Activity in November
Cyclonic activity usually decreases in the eleventh month of the year. However, in recent years, November has been a month of important system formation:
- 2023: No named cyclones formed.
- 2022: Hurricanes formed Martin and Nicole.
- 2021: There was no named cyclonic activity.
- 2020: The storm formed Theta and the hurricane Iota.
The Exceptional Rains of November 4, 2022
Despite the low probability of cyclonic impact in November, the country experienced a high-impact meteorological event on Friday, November 4, 2022not directly associated with the impact of a tropical cyclone, but with a phenomenon of tropical trough or disturbance which produced torrential and exceptional rains in the Greater Santo Domingo.
Disaster Data:
This event was classified as a “flood” due to the intensity of the rainfall, which exceeded the capacity of the capital’s storm drainage system:
- Accumulated Rain: It is estimated that they fell around 70 millimeters of rain in just three hoursan amount that exceeded the accumulated rainfall from previous historical events, such as the intense rains of October 2006.
- Human and Material Impact:
- Unfortunately, the flash floods caused the deaths of several people.
- The material losses amounted to an estimated figure of nearly RD$1,000 million in insurance claims (mainly for vehicles).
- It was reported that more than 300 vehicles They were stranded and damaged by water, affecting approximately 60% of the main roads in the National District.
- Vulnerable sectors such as Las 800, La Puya, Villa Claudia, Villa Francisca and La Zurza suffered serious damage to homes due to the overflowing of ravines.
The event of November 4, 2022 in Greater Santo Domingo, although it was not a cyclone, highlights the country’s vulnerability to severe weather events and the urgency of improving drainage systems and urban planning.
