The death toll from Tropical Storm Olga rose to 22 in the Dominican Republic, including 17 in the second-largest city Santiago, the Emergency Operations Center said Thursday.
Some 34,000 people were forced out of their homes and about 7,600 houses were wrecked and four bridges destroyed, said Juan Manuel Mendez, head of the center.
The northern province of Sana's in the republic bore the brunt of the flooding, with rains forcing the authorities to release billions of gallons of water from a near-capacity dam, inundating several towns along the waterway path and causing deaths of some residents.
The center said the death toll probably would rise further.
Angry residents complained that they had no time to escape when the authorities opened the floodgates, while the officials argued that they knew the damage that would inflict but had no choice.
Many regions in the country are still under red alert, and local authorities dispatched helicopters and life boats to rescue victims.
President Leonel Fernandez toured the destruction overnight and pledged aid for families and damaged agriculture.
Olga was the second storm to lash the Dominican Republic in just over a month. In late October, Noel killed at least 89 people and left 42 missing.
Source: Xinhua
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