Expert estimates buildings would fall with strong earthquake

The director of the Institute of Seismology of the University autonomous of Santo Domingo (UASD), Eugenio Polanco Rivera, warned yesterday the "fragility" of the Dominican Republic, buildings that face a possible earthquake of great magnitude many would collapse.

"The buildings in this country are very complex in terms of quality, many are old and made by the same people;" "do not respond to the supervision of public works or to anti-seismic norms, we have a new seismic code and the old weighed not more 4-storey buildings," said Polanco Rivera.

Also warned that "we live in a country with high seismic potential" which is capable of producing earthquakes of great intensity as of 1946, which had a magnitude of 8.1 on the Richter scale

Considered that it must take into account that the country is located in the area of interaction of two plates and, accordingly, is reason enough to say that is u000aIt can produce an earthquake of great magnitude. "We cannot say that it will happen today or tomorrow, but we must be prepared," added.

Encouraging way said that recent earthquakes that have occurred in the country, would not necessarily be a warning of what could happen in the future.

"Earthquakes occur in a source that releases energy and produces the earthquake." "We can give a notice of earthquake when it relates to a source, but we have seen that recent earthquakes that have occurred for the release of energy have been in different sources, which is why we could say that these sources have released energy they had stockpiled and might have entered a process of stillness", he said.

Expert in seismology offered these statements at a conference entitled "seismic movements in Dominican Republic: measures that we should take into account", in the virtual room of the library of the Universidad Católica Santo Domingo. u000a

"This activity fits within a plan of the Vice Presidency of the University and its virtual field in order to be in contact with society", said the Vice-Chancellor, Rafael Bello Díaz.

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Tomorrow DIRECTOR SEISMOLOGY Mexico
tomorrow Thursday will be handed down the Conference "Early warning system" headed by Dr. Geraldo Pérez, director of the Institute of Seismology of the Universidad Autónoma of Mexico, who will speak on the earthquakes of great magnitude that have affected the nation.

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