By Escarlin Pozo
El Inmobiliario
SANTO DOMINGO.- Structural civil engineer Ramón Antonio Rosario reported yesterday that the cause of the collapse of the roof of the Jet Set nightclub, which occurred early Tuesday morning, could have been due to a resonance failure.
“That is a phenomenon called resonance, which is when the waves of the unevenness of the music, or something similar, coincide with the period of the structure,” the expert indicated.
He explained that the collapse was due to a rare phenomenon: the coincidence between the vibration caused by the music and the structure's natural frequency. He added that, although "very rare," it has happened before.
“That is possible and has been handled on several occasions. There are even bridges that have collapsed as soldiers marched across them,” he specified.
The specialist explained that each structure has a period, and that this period can be calculated. However, he clarified that "the difficulty lies in making the two periods coincide: the period of the structure and the period of the issuer.".
To go into detail, he indicated that the resonance occurs in very small moments, which causes it to amplify and then a general collapse of the structure occurs.
In response to this accident, the structural engineer considered the event "regrettable and unpredictable.".
During an interview with El Inmobiliario, Rosario clarified that the age of the structures is not a determining factor in this type of structural failure, nor is the issue of maintenance.
Regarding the incident
According to an official source from the Emergency Operations Center (COE), as of last night the number of deaths had risen to 98 and the total number of injured and transferred was more than 150.
The President of the Republic, Luis Abinader, declared three days of national mourning for this tragedy, through decree 194-25. The flag must be flown at half-mast on April 8, 9, and 10.
