He urged the Government to create, by decree, that public institutions carry out a review of facilities and any renovations that arise, as well as a properly managed permitting process.
By Escalin Well
El Inmobiliario
SANTO DOMINGO. -Architect Carolina Llobregat stated that to determine the causes of the collapse of the Jet Set nightclub roof, which left a total of 221 dead, a technical evaluation must be carried out that includes structural engineers and the participation of the Ministry of Public Works and Communications (MOPC).
Despite this clear position, he addressed possible causes of the fatal event, attributing it to possibly having occurred due to being overweight, ruling out other external causes.
He explained that, knowing the site and seeing photos of the disaster, possible prior signs of structural failure, such as visible leaks, which led to layers of fine fill to solve the problem, could have been ignored.
“It collapsed due to a structural issue. There was no fire, no earthquake, no landslide, no hurricane, no hydraulic problem; a slab simply fell and affected everyone inside,” he explained.
In an interview with El Inmobiliario, she stated, “It’s very easy to think that it was overloaded. That’s the only reason. Unless there was a bomb. It was overloaded and it collapsed.”.
“If they had water leaks, and you can see several layers of thin mortar in the photos, that means they had leaks and they were adding a layer. They had more problems and they added another layer, instead of solving the problem,” he opined.
Llobregat also stated that the Dominican Republic does not have adequate supervision, neither by the State nor by the owners themselves.
In that regard, he pointed out that there is no institution in the country that supervises renovations or the condition of a building at a structural and technical level.
“This suggests that not all properties in this country are adequately supervised, not only by the State or the institutions that should be providing it, but also by private entities. If you own a business where thousands of people go, your obligation is to maintain strict oversight to prevent accidents and other problems,” he stated.
According to the architect, internal renovations are not rigorously inspected. In that regard, she called for action to prevent further catastrophes that could plunge the country into mourning, as happened this past Tuesday, April 8th.
In that regard, he urged the Government to create, by decree, that public institutions carry out a review of facilities and any renovations that arise, as well as a properly managed permitting process.
“It would even be an international example, where everyone who has carried out renovations, expansions, or internally modified a structure should update their documentation and submit it for permits. Because this could happen again in any establishment, in any location in the country, even in churches or in the Colonial Zone,” he pointed out.
He also addressed that the impact transcends the structural aspect, as it affects the confidence of citizens and tourists arriving in the country.
“I feel very sorry. And above all, I also think that this does a lot of damage to the country's brand, which this government is so concerned about,” the expert expressed, clearly distressed by the magnitude of this tragedy.
A second opinion
An engineer specializing in the subject, who requested to remain anonymous, explained that the collapsed structure featured "post-tensioned beams with a 5 cm topping slab, 25 meters long, which failed due to shear caused by the overload of transformer equipment and air conditioning chiller, power plant and more than 2 layers of fine material.".
He also addressed the fact that the Jet Set structure had "simply supported beams".
“The vibration from the equipment causes deflation and disintegration of the concrete materials. That's why we saw dust and water falling, a result of the chillers and clogged drains,” he explained.
Photo: Listín Diario.
