Photo: Dominican Republic / Shutterstock
The Government of Canada is urging residents to avoid all non-essential travel to Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic due to a tropical storm.
The advisory states that tropical storm Dorian is likely to become a hurricane and sweep sweep through Puerto Rico on or around Aug. 27. Following this, the hurricane is likely to sweep through the eastern part of the Dominican Republic, from Isla Saona to Samana, on or around Aug. 28.
The storm is expected to bring excessive rainfall and violent winds, and may cause flash flooding and landslide. Further, it could severely disrupt the following essential services:
- transportation
- power distribution
- water and food supply
- telecommunications networks
- emergency services
- medical care
‘Non essential travel’ means that there, “are specific safety and security concerns that could put you at risk.” As a result, tourists should determine whether they need to be in the country. If not, they should consider leaving while it is still safe to do so.
Hurricanes usually occur in the region from mid-May to the end of November. During hurricane season, even small tropical storms can quickly develop into major hurricanes.
The U.S. National Hurricane Centre will continue to issue alerts and warnings for the potentially affected areas as the storm develops.
