He government of the Dominican Republic declared “National duel“in honor of the victims of torrential rains of the weekend, which they have left until this Monday 24 deaths and the risk that the number will increase, authorities reported.

“Three (3) days of official mourning are declared throughout the territory of the Dominican Republic (…) on the occasion of the fatalities resulting from the passage of the recent atmospheric phenomenon for the country,” says a decree from the government of President Luis Abinader.

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The Emergency Operations Center (COE) raised the number of fatalities to 24 and warned that the number may increase because “there are bodies that have not been identified“.

“We must wait for the Inacif (Institute of Forensic Sciences) to provide this information, identify the bodies and cause of death,” said the director of the COE, General Juan Manuel Méndez to the press.

Three of the deceased identified so far They are minorsfour are from U.S. citizenship and four others are haitiansaccording to the list released by the COE.

The collapse of a wall on several vehicles that were traveling along an important avenue in Santo Domingo left nine people dead. The water “infiltrated a saturated subsoil” and the bases of the concrete wall gave way, the Ministry of Public Works said in a statement.

The rest of the deaths occurred in different incidents as a result of heavy rains.

Some 17 thousand people have been transferred to safe areas.

The COE also warned about the possibility of more floodingdue to soil saturation.

Abinader’s government maintains alerts 31 of the 32 provinces of the Caribbean country, only one on red alert, 28 on yellow alert and two in green.

Abinader said at a press conference on Sunday that the rains observed since Saturday represent the “heaviest rainfall event ever to occur in the Dominican Republic.”

The president, who considered the situation as a reflection of the imbalances caused by the climate changeplans to visit this Monday several areas affected by heavy rains.

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At the end of August, the passage of Storm Franklin through the Dominican Republic left two dead and one missing, and forced the evacuation of some 3 thousand people of areas in dangerous conditions.