A slow-moving low-pressure trough anchored over Hispaniola has unleashed days of torrential rain across the Dominican Republic, triggering flash floods, landslides, and river overflows in nearly every corner of the country. By April 15, 2026, authorities had confirmed at least four deaths and more than 30,000 evacuations, with damage to over 6,000 homes and drinking water cut off for more than a million people.
Follow the ongoing response on the Dominican Republic Floods disaster page.
A Nation Under Alert
Twenty-eight of the country's 32 provinces were placed under red or yellow alert as rivers in the Cibao, Greater Santo Domingo, and eastern regions overflowed their banks. Twenty-eight communities were completely cut off after roads and bridges washed out. The victims include a seven-year-old girl swept away while crossing a river, a 19-year-old man who tried to cross on horseback, and an infant killed when the wall of her home in the capital collapsed.
President Luis Abinader activated the Presidential Emergency Operations Center (COE) and mobilized the armed forces, civil defense, and public water utilities for rescue, shelter, and water restoration operations. Schools across much of the country were closed, and treatment plants serving the capital were knocked offline, forcing officials to distribute water by tanker truck.
Organizations Responding
The American Red Cross is coordinating with the Dominican Red Cross, which — backed by the IFRC's Disaster Response Emergency Fund — is leading damage assessments, evacuations, and the distribution of water, hygiene items, and shelter kits across the hardest-hit provinces.
Direct Relief is working through its Caribbean partner network to pre-position emergency medical supplies, including water purification tablets and essential medications for health centers serving flood-affected communities.
Americares has activated its emergency response protocols and is deploying medical aid and hygiene supplies to Dominican partners on the ground, drawing on its long experience responding to floods in the region.
Save the Children is preparing child-focused relief, including emergency education kits, safe spaces for displaced children, and psychosocial support for families uprooted by the floods.
How to Help
The most effective way to support flood survivors in the Dominican Republic is through monetary donations to established relief organizations. Cash donations let responders purchase water, food, and medical supplies locally and direct resources where the need is greatest.
Visit the Dominican Republic Floods disaster page for a complete list of responding organizations and direct donation links, or browse the full organization directory to learn more about vetted groups working in the Caribbean.
