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In a swift governmental response to widespread damage, President Luis Abinader has enacted Decrees 626-25 and 627-25, placing 14 provinces and several other areas of the country under a state of emergency following the passing of Tropical Storm Melissa. The key objective of the emergency declaration is to expedite and facilitate urgent government purchases and contracts essential for the immediate relief, repair, and reconstruction efforts. The declaration of emergency reduces the requirements needed for procurement transactions. Decree 626-25 officially classifies the scale of the destruction caused by the tropical storm as regional damage. Crucially, Decree 627-25 establishes a national emergency status for all procurement and contracting of goods, services, and works by state institutions. This legislative measure bypasses standard procedures to quickly channel resources toward the repair, construction, and reconstruction necessary to undo the harm caused by the atmospheric phenomenon. El Nacional newspaper shares remarks of people concerned the decrees will facilitate corruption in government. While the decrees were issued to expedite relief following the impact of Tropical Storm Melissa, the damages had already worsened in many of these provinces because Melissa rains were followed by downpours produced by a subsequent combined tropical wave and trough. The province of Barahona in the southwest has especially been impacted. The state of emergency encompasses the National District and Greater Santo Domingo provinces: Barahona, Pedernales, San Cristobal, San Jose de Ocoa, Azua, Peravia, San Juan de la Maguana, San Pedro de Macorís, Monte Plata, La Romana, La Vega, Monseñor Nouel. President Luis Abinader was in San Jose de Ocoa to personally evaluate the damages created by the flooding of several rivers and streams. Not only were agricultural projects damaged, but the roadways also suffered damage due to landslides and water undercutting the paved surfaces and destroying the more rural roads. The following government bodies have been authorized to use the national emergency procurement exception:• The Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance• The Ministry of Education• The Ministry of Agriculture• The Ministry of Interior and Police• The Ministry of Public Works and Communications• The Ministry of Housing, Habitat and Edifications (Mivhed)• The Administrative Ministry of the Presidency• The Ministry of Tourism• The National Health Service (SNS) While not under the provinces covered by the Emergency Act, Santiago suffered record urban flooding and even the elevated roadway on Estrella Sadhala Avenue was impacted to such a degree that cars were flooded up to the roof line. Traffic was detoured from the principal entryway to the nation’s second largest city, the Duarte Highway-Monumental Avenue. Read more in Spanish:Presidency Presidency Diario Libre Listin Diario El Dia Listin Diario El Nacional Inside Climate News 3 November 2025
