DR1 Daily News - Dominican Republic

Luis Carvajal / Z Digital

Following the passage of a significant trough on 7 April 2026 and 08 April 2026 that paralyzed the National District and San Cristóbal, prominent ecologist Luis Carvajal is calling for a radical shift in urban planning, asserting that the resulting “natural disasters” are actually the physical consequences of human negligence. Carvajal, the Coordinator of the Environmental Commission at the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD) and a member of the Academy of Sciences, argues that the city’s vulnerability stems from a model of development that prioritizes land speculation over “territorial intelligence.”

Carvajal notes that the systematic filling of wetlands, which naturally store excess water, and the sealing of the city with impermeable concrete have transformed streets into high-speed funnels for runoff. The expert explains that the...