Heavy rains in the Dominican Republic over the past 48 hours have killed at least 21 people, including three minors, authorities said Sunday, according to AFP and Agerpres.

Heavy rains cause wall to collapse on vehicles traveling on overpass in Santo DomingoPhoto: Eddy Vittini/AP/Profimedia

According to the Center for Emergency Operations (COE), four of the people who died in the various incidents are US citizens and three are Haitian citizens. According to the authorities, on Sunday almost all provinces of the country (30 out of 32) were still in a state of alert.

Nine of the 21 deaths occurred Saturday night when a large wall collapsed on top of a car on February 27 Boulevard, one of the main streets in the capital, Santo Domingo.

“This event cost the lives of nine people,” the Ministry of Public Works said in a statement, stressing that an “investigation” had been opened.

Thousands of people were evacuated

Nine more people died in Santo Domingo in various accidents, including the collapse of a house wall.

A man was swept away by water in the province of San José de Ocoa (in the south), and two more people died in similar circumstances in the province of La Altagracia (in the east).

According to the COE, approximately 13,000 people were evacuated from the risk zones.

Dominican President Luis Abinader said at a press conference Sunday that it was “the heaviest rainfall ever recorded in the Dominican Republic.”

He announced the suspension of classes until Wednesday to “guarantee the safety of children and youth.”