To be brutally honest, “Hurricane Irene” was a bit of a non-event in Casa de Campo and La Romana. Despite initial predictions that the Hurricane would cross directly over the Dominican Republic, our prayers were answered when she veered North and her centre crossed across the top/North of the Dominican Republic – more than 200km away from Casa de Campo.
Regardless of our ‘lucky escape’ Hurricane Irene did still bring high winds, very heavy rain and a storm surge – so although the damage Hurricane Irene caused in Casa de Campo was minimal and was essentially cleared up within a day of here departure, there was some damage: fallen trees and branches, debris, minimal flooding from leaky roofs and sand erosion at Minitas Beach.
NOTE: Casa de Campo is now 100% as beautiful and serene as always – there is no longer any sign of Hurricane Irene and from these photos you’ll see it really wasn’t that bad at all!
So because we know you love photos, here are a collection of our photos of the weather conditions in Casa de Campo during Hurricane Irene and some others of the “damage” she caused:
Heavy rain and winds in the main Casa de Campo Hotel area This photo was taken on Tuesday morning the 23rd of August – as Hurricane Irene was moving off to the North-West of the Dominican Republic.
Wet weather in Altos de Chavón A new drainage system in Altos de Chavón, directed excess water from heavy rains off of the main Altos de Chavón plaza – making my short walk to the office mush more pleasant (and less wet for my feet)
A windy day on the Teeth of the Dog! High winds coming off of the ocean made the Teeth of the Dog golf course rather an unpleasant place to be on Monday and Tuesday the 22nd and 23rd of August.
Debris in Casa de Campo caused by Hurricane Irene Many of Casa de Campo’s roads were littered with leaves and branches blown from the trees – this photo was contributed by Caroline Healy.
Big branches in the road! Budding photographer and reporter, Caroline Healy from England contributed this photo of some branches in the main road to Playa Minitas. A safety conscious Caroline, tells us that after photographing these branches she then moved them out of the road!
Sand erosion on Playa Minitas Due to the storm surge, Playa Minitas was closed whilst Hurricane Irene passed by. This photo was taken on Wednesday morning the 24th of August, whilst the beach was still closed and was undergoing an intense clean-up. As you can see rain water running down the beach caused some sand erosion and some debris was washed up from the ocean. Fortunately, Playa Minitas has now been restored to it;s former glory and is just as beautiful as always.
Wet and windswept: The Beach Club by Le Cirque My favorite Casa de Campo restaurant the Beach Club by Le Cirque got rather wet and windswept, but suffered no permanent damage and was cleaned up and back to serving delicious food just hours after this photo was taken.
So as you can see there really was no “damage” caused by Hurricane Irene in Casa de Campo – and for that we are very thankful! Admittedly,Irene did cause a little bit of a mess in some places but that was all cleared up within hours of her departure and now, more than a week later you would never know she had been here!
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