“For the first time in the Dominican Republic, we will no longer have to guess what might happen in any of our buildings, both in the public and private sectors.” Leonardo Reyes Madera.
SANTO DOMINGO.- A total of 53 engineering and architecture professionals, 30 men and 23 women, belonging to the core of civil engineers of the Dominican College of Engineers, Architects and Surveyors (Codia) were certified and are enabled to contribute to the evaluation of the vulnerability of buildings before and after an earthquake.
These professionals will become part of the Dominican Network of Structural Evaluators (REED) and the Bank of Evaluators.
The engineers and architects who graduated from the diploma program in Building Evaluation completed 48 hours of theoretical and practical training in the management and use of the standardized methodology for building evaluation, which focuses on streamlining the processes of evaluation and data collection before and after an earthquake, determining and quantifying disaster risk, and prioritizing evaluation measures for critical infrastructure, according to a press release.
The press document indicates that the training and instruction fell under the responsibility of the National Office of Seismic Evaluation and Vulnerability of Infrastructure and Buildings (Onesvie), the Codia and the National Emergency Commission (Cne) , through the Pregeri-RD Project financed by the European Union and the certification of the Technological Institute of Santo Domingo (Intec).
Leonardo Reyes Madera, general director of Onesvie, expressed that it is of utmost importance for the Dominican Republic that engineering and architecture professionals strengthen their skills to help preventive agencies in the task of pre- and post-earthquake evaluation.
“We are pleased to have achieved another milestone in our mission to train evaluators to assess vulnerability in buildings, infrastructure, and lifelines across the country. Today we reached 100 evaluators and are continuing toward our goal of 1,000,” stated Reyes Madera.
“We need them to help us with prevention, to help us identify weaknesses, to help us detect problems, and to have the ability to solve them before the earthquake arrives,” the official stated.
He said that the organization he represents has made an effort to provide training to raise awareness about the importance of prevention among the participants of the diploma program, in order to have resilient buildings and guarantee the safety of every Dominican.
“You will be a voice of warning, capable and qualified to accompany state relief agencies in the arduous task of pre- and post-disaster assessment, as well as multipliers of prevention messages, which guarantees true resilience. For the first time in the Dominican Republic, we will no longer have to guess what might happen in any of our buildings, both in the public and private sectors,” he emphasized.
Reyes Madera thanked the European Union, Codia, Intec, the Civil Engineers Association, Civil Defense, the ProgeriRD project, the graduates, and each of the institutions involved in the realization and completion of the course, for the interest shown.
Meanwhile, Juan Salas, president of the CNE and executive director of the Civil Defense (DC), indicated that from the institutions he leads, he continues to coordinate actions that contribute to a preventive culture of risk.
He also stated that the graduation of the second cohort of the Diploma program strengthens the prerogatives of Law 147-02 on Disaster Risk Management. In that regard, he congratulated the 53 new engineering and architecture professionals who will have the skills and training to address the problem of seismic vulnerability in the country.
Meanwhile, Alliet Ortega, Vice-Rector of Administration and Finance at INTEC, stated that training is paramount for the university, as it is the way to contribute to the development of the country.
“INTEC’s triple Ellipse philosophy is to work not only with the State, but also with companies, societies and associations such as Codia, to achieve initiatives that contribute to institutional strengthening and the common good of each of the Dominicans.”.
She noted that among the 53 graduates there are 23 women, which means that the Dominican Republic is working to eliminate gender bias, and she encouraged them to be multipliers of preventive actions to reduce the impact of disaster risk.
Yanelba Abreu, administrator of the Progeri-RD project, praised the effort of each of the graduates, the support of the European Union and all the institutions involved in the development of each stage of the training program.
“The training effort began in 2015 with the launch of the Prever tool, facilitating interest from European Union executives in the implementation of the training and skills development program for professionals through Onesvie.”.
Juan Antonio Villar González, president of the Dominican College of Engineers, Architects, and Surveyors (CODIA), expressed his gratitude for the participation of the members and the institutions involved in the training, while also stating that continued efforts in prevention are essential. He further reported that the training initiative resulted from an inter-institutional agreement between CODIA, the National Office of Seismological and Environmental Studies (ONESVIE), and the other participating institutions, aimed at strengthening capabilities in seismic assessment of buildings, infrastructure, and lifelines.
The activity was carried out last Saturday, July 6, in the Ana Mercedes Henríquez auditorium of INTEC and was attended by representatives of State and private institutions, members of civil society and special guests.
