Since 1930, during their first year in office, five presidents have had to deal with the existence and consequences of a hurricane.

Considering the predictable possibility of Hurricane Elsa coming to the Dominican border on Saturday, Louis Abinader could become the fifth president, in his first year in office, to deal with this natural phenomenon.

Previous leaders who faced the disasters of the hurricane were Rafael Leonidas Trujillo, Joaquin Balaguer, Lionel Fernandez, Hibalito Mejia and Danilo Medina.
Chronologically, Trujillo is facing a hurricane in his first year.

The tyrant came to power on May 24, 1930, and four months later, on September 3, Hurricane San Jenan devastated the country. The event claimed about 2,000 human lives. This is the most devastating hurricane, maximum type. His eye passed on the capital, which had at least 70,000 people.

After the catastrophe faced by Trujillo, the system of Dr. Balaguer, who became President on July 1, 1966, and the Ines on September 29 of that year were created.

According to press records, the Innes was the fourth type, with winds of up to 240 kilometers per hour.

It entered the South Coast on September 29, waking up to about 70 deaths and a loss of $ 10 million.

The limited communications of the time took the tropical hurricane Parazo, Ojeda, Los Pastos, Enrique, Juanzo, La Colonia, Oviedo and the general leader of the province, the Federals, by surprise. Balaguer, who had been president of the Republic for just three months, went to the scene amid the tragedy, and two days later helicopters from the 82nd Air Force of the 1965 occupation troops arrived to help the victims.

Thirty years later, in 1996, especially on August 16, Lionel Fernandez was elected to his first post, and within a month Hurricane Hortens swept across the country’s east coast and headed north.

By the time it hit the Dominican Territory, the hurricane had hit the National District and the eastern region hard. Hurdles reported winds of up to 130 kilometers per hour, killing at least three people.

Hibalito Mejia was the next president to accept the presidency and face a hurricane. On August 23, 2000, a few days after taking office, Debbie touched the north coast of the island and then moved parallel to the beaches of Luberan and Isabella.

Hurricane Debbie, listed as Type 1, was blowing at 140 kilometers per hour.

Already in 2012, five days after Danilo Medina took office as President, Hurricane Isaac was placed on the Dominican coast.

Isaac was a Type 1 hurricane with winds of up to 130 kilometers per hour, causing the evacuation of nearly 7,800 people in the low-lying areas of the country, with at least 10 rural settlements cut off due to flooding.

Also, according to press reports, much of the Dominican capital was without power during the height of the storm.

Despite the impact of Hurricane Isaac, no casualties were reported; 49 houses were destroyed across the country causing damage to agriculture and communications.

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With the fictitious arrival of Hurricane Elsa, Abinadar may face a hurricane before completing his first year in office, with the country still plagued by the COVID-19 epidemic.

The government is drawing up plans
Ahead of the arrival of Elsa, the first hurricane of the hurricane season, the government yesterday met with representatives of relief agencies and climate agencies to discuss measures to be taken in the coming days.

At the meeting, President Abinadar discussed with the delegates the creation of the Emergency Response Center (COE), the location of Elsa to deal with possible events that could cross the country.