By Ashley Morales-Cartagena
Special for El Inmobiliario
Puerto Plata, 2003: two collapsed schools reminded us of the fragility of our classrooms. Had that earthquake struck during the school morning, we would still be mourning those children today.
In the early morning of September 22, 2003, at 12:45 a.m., Puerto Plata was shaken by
a 6.4 magnitude earthquake that rattled the city in seconds. I was 15 years old and in my
second year of high school, awake and doing homework when I felt the dresser vibrate. For a
moment, I thought it was going to fall on me. I was in Santo Domingo—I was scared for my parents—
it was the first time I had ever felt a major earthquake.
At that time, social media was just starting out, and sharing information instantly seemed like something from the future. Many questions began to arise in my mind about what had happened and where. The morning news reports indicated that an earthquake had occurred in Puerto Plata. The strongest impact was felt at the Gilbert "La Reforma" Urban High School, where a building collapsed almost completely, its first floor giving way and leaving roofs torn off.
Very close by was the José Dubeau High School, which also suffered severe damage with the partial collapse
of one of its structures and deep cracks that jeopardized the safety of its classrooms.
School buildings that were supposed to function as shelters – for example after an
earthquake – were reduced to broken walls and rubble.
Now, let's imagine that this scenario had occurred at 10:00 a.m. With classrooms
full, the collapse at La Reforma would have claimed the lives of hundreds of children in Puerto Plata.
How would we have responded? What would we have done with the children and teachers trapped in
both schools? Perhaps the hospitals would have been overwhelmed, and our
rescue teams would have faced a grim and challenging task. This tragedy didn't happen in 2003 because the
earthquake struck in the middle of the night, but it remains a real threat as long as so many Dominican schools
remain in vulnerable conditions.
More than two decades later, the country has not comprehensively addressed this vulnerability.
Recent UNESCO assessments, through the BERLAC project and the VISUS methodology,
confirm that a large proportion of Dominican schools have
structural deficiencies that could lead to earthquakes. Thousands of children study every day under roofs that might not
withstand the next earthquake.
School safety must be adopted as a state policy. The urgent actions are
clear:
1. Conduct a seismic vulnerability assessment of all public and
private schools, as well as hospitals.
2. Implement seismic reinforcement prioritizing those most exposed, close to
active faults and with the largest number of students.
3. Ensure compliance with building codes, with real and
independent inspections.
4. Train school communities in emergency prevention and response.
Our children cannot wait. If the classrooms tremble, the future of the nation trembles.
Resilience is not improvised: it is built today, starting in the schools.
The author is a civil engineer, specializing in geotechnical engineering and seismic resilience.
The opinions expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of its author.
