Of particular note is the launch of the first tenders by the Ministry of Education for the reinforcement of 182 school buildings near active seismic faults in the country.
SANTO DOMINGO.- The National Office of Seismic Evaluation and Vulnerability of Infrastructure and Buildings (Onesvie) reported that during the past year, it carried out a total of 195 quick visual evaluations and 7 detailed evaluations, on a total of 77 public and private buildings.
The institution announced the results of its work during 2023, within the framework of the execution of its Annual Operating Plan to reduce and mitigate seismic vulnerability at the national level, highlighting that it also carried out 12 post-disaster evaluations, seven reinforcement proposals and the first Forensic Engineering study carried out in the country on the building that housed the Multimuebles store in the province of La Vega.
In a press release, Onesvie highlights the launch of the first tenders by the Ministry of Education for the reinforcement of 182 school buildings located near active seismic faults in the country. Onesvie explains that its role consisted of conducting the necessary studies and providing the plans for the educational facilities that will undergo the work. Furthermore, it will be responsible for supervising the reinforcement work.
Onesvie maintains that it led the training in the first Diploma of the Dominican National Network of Structural Evaluators Pre and Post Event, in which 47 professionals and experts from different public and private institutions were certified, who will become part of the Bank of Dominican Evaluators and will be able to participate in evaluation processes of buildings, infrastructure and lifelines in support of the State's emergency agencies.
Projects completed
Among the projects carried out, the entity cites photogrammetric drone of 100% of the buildings in the Naco sector, in Santo Domingo, as well as 17 bridges located in the province of San Pedro de Macorís, whose purpose is to generate alternative routes in case of natural events, so that, in this way, the first response institutions in emergency situations can continue to offer timely assistance to the citizens.
It also adds the "Project to Strengthen the Capacity for Seismic Evaluation of Buildings in the Dominican Republic," with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), a three-year training program to integrate improvements in the field of technology and strengthen the country's capacity in the areas of earthquake-resistant engineering and seismic risk reduction.
"Project Strengthening Technical Capacities in Disaster Risk Reduction from Seismic Events," the result of the South-South cooperation agreement supported by the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Development (MEPyD) and the Peruvian-Japanese Center for Seismic Research and Disaster Mitigation (CISMID)," adds Onesvie, whose director is engineer Leonardo Reyes Madera.
Leonardo Reyes Madera, director of Onesvie. (External source).
In other matters, within the institutional events, it mentions the Prelude to the 6th Seismic Model Code Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean and the Celebration of the 6th Seismic Model Code Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean, which addressed the problem of seismic vulnerability and, for the first time, was held in the Dominican Republic, with the participation of experts in seismology and seismic engineering from 15 countries.
With the goal of expanding operational capacity and bringing the institution's services closer to more than 1,334,529 residents of the southern region, Onesvie inaugurated its Southern Regional Office in the province of Barahona.
Quality in services
The presentation of the first version of its Citizen Commitment Charter was one of the contributions of the National Seismic Evaluation Office, which also obtained Nortic E1 and Nortic A3 recertifications, in the areas of technology and communication, granted by the Government Office of Information and Communication Technologies (OPTIC).
Awards
With its nomination for the 19th Dominican Republic National Public Sector Quality Award, the institution reaffirmed its commitment to transparency and quality in all its services. It also achieved third place in the "High Institutional Performance" category of the Public Administration Monitoring System (SISMAP), with a score of 96.26 in the evaluated management areas.
In November 2023, through decree 603-23, Onesvie was designated as the Executive Directorate and headquarters of the Commission for the Supervision of Public Infrastructure in the Face of Climate Change, a national initiative created by the President of the Republic, Luis Abinader, with the purpose of identifying, as soon as possible, the vulnerabilities of the main public works, overpasses, tunnels, elevated structures, bridges, pedestrian bridges, slopes in critical condition and buildings.
