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Calle residencial caribeña inundada bajo la lluvia, con vecinos caminando entre el agua y un drenaje desbordado en primer plano
Una calle de un barrio caribeño anegada tras las lluvias: vecinos cruzan el agua mientras un drenaje desbordado y restos arrastrados muestran la obstrucción de los desagües. · Imagen generada para EPM

O'Neal demands a lasting flood plan for Santo Domingo Este

Lawmaker Juliana O'Neal asked the Santo Domingo Este city government for a sustainable plan against Tuesday's flooding in Alma Rosa and Maquiteria, while…

--- The context --- Flooding on Tuesday again inundated different sectors of Santo Domingo Este and reopened a demand that returns with every season of intense rain. Against that backdrop, lawmaker Juliana O'Neal called for sustainable solutions and asked the city government to explain what actions it is carrying out to keep the rains from paralyzing the municipality. She made the demand during statements to the press at the Chamber of Deputies, with the focus placed on prevention and on the continuity of interventions over time. --- The facts --- O'Neal mentioned the flooding recorded in Alma Rosa and on Costa Rica and San Vicente de Paúl avenues, as well as the drainage problems affecting Maquiteria. In La Isabelita and Villa Faro, residents and merchants asked for definitive solutions to storm drainage. The lawmaker considered it necessary to identify the critical points and strengthen the cleaning of storm drains, the maintenance of drainage systems and garbage collection as part of a preventive strategy, and warned that these situations affect productive activity, school attendance and public transportation. The Dominican Institute of Meteorology reported that rain will continue this Wednesday, although with less intensity, due to a trough combined with southeasterly wind, with downpours, thunderstorms and gusts of wind in different regions, including the southeast. --- The positions --- O'Neal argued that solutions and a plan are needed and that the public must know what the city government is doing about this situation. She also maintained that a state plan is required rather than only a government plan, with interventions sustained over time regardless of changes in authorities. Residents and merchants in La Isabelita and Villa Faro agreed in asking for works that keep water from entering their homes and businesses again, and called for better management of solid waste to reduce the obstruction of drains. --- What remains unknown --- It is still not known what concrete actions the city government is carrying out, nor an intervention schedule for the sectors and avenues identified, nor how cleaning, maintenance and collection are organized at the critical points. --- Unanswered questions --- What critical points have been identified so far in Santo Domingo Este? What storm drain cleaning and drainage maintenance work is currently under way? How will garbage collection be strengthened to prevent drains from becoming obstructed? What measures will be adopted before the intense rains that are often recorded in November? --- EPM analysis --- The demand connects three levels that are often treated separately: drainage infrastructure, solid waste management and the continuity of public policy. When they do not advance together, each rain episode again interrupts production, classes and transportation. The weather warning adds immediate urgency, but the core is structural: without sustained maintenance and verifiable prevention, a partial improvement in how quickly the water recedes is not a definitive solution. 📌 EPM Take: In EPM's view, the value of O'Neal's demand lies in requiring continuity and verifiable prevention, not improvised responses after each flood. Identifying critical points, cleaning storm drains, maintaining drainage systems and collecting garbage on time are basic tasks whose fulfillment should be checkable street by street. If the city government presents that plan with clear responsibility and public follow-up, Santo Domingo Este will gain real resilience; if everything remains announcements after Tuesday's rain, the next episode will again paralyze schools, transportation and productive activity.
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