After death and destruction, damage count starts

Santo Domingo.-Powerful Hurricane Matthew killed four people and damaged major road structuresin various parts of the country, despite not impacting Dominican Republicterritory directly.

On Wednesday the ministriesof Agriculture and of Public Works announced the start of assessing the damagefrom the storm. Agriculture minister Angel Estevez said there was no seriousdamage to crops.

As the result ofdownpours in the last few hours, the number of evacuated people stands at35,019, mostly in Santo Domingo and southern and eastern areas.

Emergency OperationsCenter (COE) director Juan Manuel Mendez on Wednesday said four people had diedas the result of the hurricane, and that the number of homes damaged alsoincreased to 3,174, with 25 destroyed.

He said the mostsevere damage occurred in Vicente Noble (west), where a swollen river caused amudslide which impacted the hospital and various areas of the town.

The COE discontinuedthe flash flooding warnings for most provincesand the National District.

Showers continue

The National WeatherOffice (Onamet) on Thursday said the cloudiness associated with Matthew willcontinue to cause showers with occasional thunderstorms over the southwest, west,northwest and central regions. It said a decrease in rainfall is expectedacross the country in the next 24 to 36 hours.