NewsWhore
02-18-2009, 02:20 PM
The Enriquillo Lake area is being regarded as an ecological disaster, as the rising waters of the salt water lake have covered farm lands, reports the Listin Diario. The rising waters have engulfed homes, roads and now even threaten the three main highways that connect the Barahona province to the rest of the country. Floods that have raised the water level of the lake have covered up parts of the Cabritos Island located in the center of the lake, and the La Azufrada, formerly a popular natural sulphur water pool. Eng. David Volquez says that in the past five months the waters have covered more than 200,000 tareas (126 million square meters) that were planted with plantains, bananas, yuca, leek, avocados, coconuts and avocados, and other farm produce. Cattle-grazing land has also been affected. He said that in less than half a year, an average of four kilometers of planted land has been covered by salt water with a heights equivalent to a two-floor building.
To give an idea of how large the area is, he compared it to ground located in Santo Domingo between Abraham Lincoln Av. And the Ozama River. He said the rising waters have covered coconut trees at heights of even four meters. "What is happening here is a tragedy so big that all the crops that had been planted in the surroundings of the lake have completely disappeared," he told the Listin Diario.
Residents in Villa Jaragua, Los Clavellines, Los Rios de Neiba, La Descubierta, Bartolome, Postrer Rio and Boca de Cachon have had to leave their dwellings.
Part of the explanation lies in that centuries ago, the Enriquillo Lake was part of a sea connection to Haiti. With the elimination of forestry coverage in Haiti, the rising waters are flowing to the Dominican side as they make their way out to the sea on the eastern side of the southwestern peninsula.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#6)
To give an idea of how large the area is, he compared it to ground located in Santo Domingo between Abraham Lincoln Av. And the Ozama River. He said the rising waters have covered coconut trees at heights of even four meters. "What is happening here is a tragedy so big that all the crops that had been planted in the surroundings of the lake have completely disappeared," he told the Listin Diario.
Residents in Villa Jaragua, Los Clavellines, Los Rios de Neiba, La Descubierta, Bartolome, Postrer Rio and Boca de Cachon have had to leave their dwellings.
Part of the explanation lies in that centuries ago, the Enriquillo Lake was part of a sea connection to Haiti. With the elimination of forestry coverage in Haiti, the rising waters are flowing to the Dominican side as they make their way out to the sea on the eastern side of the southwestern peninsula.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#6)