Hurricanes hitting the Dominican Republic, contrary to most people’s beliefs, are really not very common events. If you look at the hurricanes that have hit, they are spaced out over the course of time. When they do strike, they rarely hit the north coast but more often strike the southern and western parts of the island instead. Following is a list of hurricanes on record that hit the Dominican Republic, their respective categories and the areas they affected:
- Jeanne (Category 1). 16 September 2004. East Coast, Samana and Puerto Plata.
- Georges. (Category 3). 22 September 1998. 190 km/h. Santo Domingo and La Romana on the southeastern coast.
- Hortense. (Category 3-1). 10 September 1996. East coast from Punta Cana to Samana. 148 km/h.
- Gilbert. (Category 3). 11 September 1988. Barahona on the southwestern coast, with winds of 200 km/h.
- Emily. (Category 4-2). 22 September 1987. Bani on the southwestern coast, winds of 220 km/h.
- David. (Category 5-4). 31 August 1979. 240 km/h. Santo Domingo on the south central coast.
- Eloise (Category 1) 13 September 1975 240 km/hr on Northeast coast.
- Beulah. (Category 4). 10-11 September 1967. Barahona on the western coast with winds of 225 km/h.
- Inez. (Category 4-3). 29 September 1966. Barahona on the western coast, winds of 204 kph.
- Edith. (Category 2). 26-27 September 1963. La Romana on the southeastern coast, winds of 160 km/h.
- Katie. (Category 1). 16 October 1955. Barahona on the western coast, winds of 125 km/h.
- San Zenon. (Category 3). 3 September 1930. 200 km/h. Santo Domingo on the south/central coast.
- Lili. 21 September 1894. Primarily affecting Santo Domingo and the southwestern coast.
Note that the last hurricane to hit the capital city of Santo Domingo was Georges (Category 3) on September 22nd 1998 and before that, hurricane David (Category 5) in 1979. This the likelihood of getting caught in one is very small.