He San Francisco de Asis Animal Sanctuary (Sasfa) is looking for a new headquarters in a non-floodable area in the southwest of the island, after the Guanajibo River overflowed its banks and filled part of the first floor of its facilities in Cabo Rojo with water, as happened during hurricanes Maria and Fiona.
“In the 16 years we have been here, this would be the third time that a major flood has hit the facilities, but with climate change this can be very constant. So, we would like to get a safe space, so we don’t have to suffer all these anxieties and fears every time a hurricane or storm comes.”held Dellymar BernalCEO of Sasfa.
The space they are looking for – donated or available at a price they can afford – would ideally be somewhere in the southwest, with few neighbors who might be bothered by barking, mostly flat to build play areas and, above all, not located in a flood zone.
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In the meantime, donations of financial and material resources, as well as the availability of volunteers, will be key to repairing the damage caused by the water, which usually takes one to two days to completely subside.
At around noon, the effects of the storm were not known precisely, since the Sanctuary staff had not been able to access the facilities that remained flooded and under river current. However, In aerial images, they had been able to observe that the fences, the play areas for dogs and the “catios” or recreational spaces for cats were affected, Bernal said.
“In the photos we saw, the river was at 24 feet, and at night, it rose to 26. Our experience tells us that when it goes over 26 feet, it already enters the first floor, but we don’t know how much the accumulation was.”said the director of Sasfa, who detailed that, for Hurricane Fiona, in 2022, the accumulation of water reached six feet in height on the first floor of the center.
To enter the Sanctuary, heavy equipment is needed that can move forward despite the current. The “amphibious vehicles” of the municipalities of Cabo Rojo and Hormigueros, which usually support the organization in these situations, broke down, so they asked for help from private companies that agreed to collaborate. However, they told them that “they understood that it was safer to try to enter after midday to give the water space to continue going down.”
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The animals at the Sanctuary, which number about 200, are safe, as they were relocated with people who responded to the call for foster homes and others are in the homes of employees of the organization. Animals that are afraid of people or are not sociable are on the second floor of the Sanctuary.
Sasfa staff were able to enter the building at midday on Wednesday, fed the animals that remain at the center, and left them extra food so they would not lack what they could bring in.
“We safeguard and protect our animals, they are safe, and as soon as it is safe for us to enter, we will do so. Now, we need the support of the community to be able to operate again,” Bernal said.
Those who are interested in to give the being volunteers of the Sanctuary, can access sasfapr.org.
