SANTO DOMINGO– The Ministry of Public Works has not received any reports of infrastructure damage from yesterday's earthquake, Minister Deligne Ascención confirmed. Meanwhile, engineering and architecture experts from the Ministry of Education determined that the damage to schools in Peravia province, where the epicenter was located, "does not represent any danger to these structures" because it is limited to the joints of roofs and walls, which are not load-bearing.
"The depth that has been established, according to the Institute of Seismology, which was about 48 kilometers, attenuates the impact of the waves that they can cause," said the Minister of Public Works.
Several school buildings in Baní showed cracks and fissures, many of them "old cracks from previous seismic events and others recent, especially in the newly built schools, but according to the technicians there is no danger from them
Deligne Ascención opined that the earthquake should serve as a reminder to the country that we live in a very active zone with a history of very active seismicity.
He said that the entities responsible for building and supervising public and private works must be subject to strict building codes.
"We are taking steps with the Office of Seismic Vulnerability (Onasvie), which is headed by engineer Reyes Madera. We were in Chile reviewing the seismic code with them," Ascención stated.
The official noted that Chile has a building code capable of reducing the impact of earthquakes on infrastructure, because for many years they have developed a seismic discipline, which demonstrates that engineering can mitigate the effects of earthquakes.
The Minister of Public Works was interviewed after receiving an award from the National Association of Asphalt Producers (Anpras).
Minor damage to buildings
The 5.0 magnitude earthquake that shook Peravia province, among others in the south and the country yesterday morning, forced the suspension of teaching in almost all educational centers in this area.
Although the earthquake occurred at 7:11 in the morning, there was already a considerable number of students and teachers, who were gripped by panic at the shaking.
In two-story schools, such as the Francisco Gregorio Billini high school and the Canada school in the city center, among others, students and teachers did not want to go up to the second floor for fear of another earthquake.
Both public and private schools decided to send students from this area home, as well as teachers, administrative and support staff, as a way to prevent "any regrettable incidents," said directors and local education authorities, as well as the Dominican Association of Teachers (ADP), which supported the measure.
The earthquake occurred at 7:11 a.m. with its epicenter in the Caribbean Sea, 32 kilometers southeast of Matanzas, at a depth of 45.1 kilometers, according to the report from the United States Geodetic Survey (USGS).
Initially, the USGS reported that the earthquake registered a magnitude of 5.3, but later corrected it to 5.0 and adjusted both the depth and distance.
Experts in the areas of engineering and architecture from the Ministry of Education and the local council visited several educational establishments, verifying the effects of the earthquake on these infrastructures.
Several of these school buildings showed cracks and fissures, many of them "old cracks from other seismic events and others recent, especially in the newly built schools, but according to these technicians "they do not represent any danger in these infrastructures" because they are in the joints of roofs and walls that do not bear loads, they explained.
Members of the Baní Fire Department also inspected these educational premises, recommending that the electrical system be disconnected and gas tanks in the kitchens be shut off as a "precautionary measure against other possible aftershocks of greater intensity," they indicated.
The classrooms of the educational centers here were empty not only in the morning session, but the precautions were also applied in the afternoon and evening sessions, where students and teachers were absent still harboring the fear of the scare that overwhelmed the population in the morning.
Taken from Diario Libre and Listín Diario with modifications applied to the text.
