I am almost sure the last earthquake that gave significent damage was part of the earthquake that destroyed Port au Prince ...it continued on to the north of DR .. Of course there are literally dozens of minor quakes in the DR every year that shake things and wake you up .
While asking when the last one was is a valid question, the real question is when is the next one.
And for that, nobody knows. Was there not a recent prediction for the DR by someone supposedly renowned who is always trying to predict them?
Oops, they missed it again...
I have been here for five years and had three 4.5 tremblers occur that I felt. They happen maybe once a year at this level and most of the times people don't feel them unless they are close. Eventually, there will be something much larger that will cause damage...maybe significant damage.
There was a 6.4 in 2003 near Puerto Plata which caused some building damage. Perhaps the most recent of note otherwise back to 1946 for a real biggie which hit North Coast near Nagua with tsunami which caused the life loss
There is a 4 story apartment building near my house built on pillars like your garage.
I'm walking over to see what's left of it after a good "shake"!!!
There are a lot of buildings in this country supported on those same type of pillars.
'Dominican' 8" plastic pipe formed concrete columns I presume? 12" square or larger is new code as I understand it.
Shear reinforcement at column heads (lots of links) and reinforcement into supporting beam is needed in design to stop the column head/beam or slab failure.
I have a building with some apartments for which I pay quite a lot for insurance against earthquakes and hurricanes. Somebody said to me yesterday that I was mad, because in the case of a big event the chances of the insurance companies paying out was nil. Any thoughts?
Insurance companies are like banks. Both over extend their ability to pay by a large amount. It is assumed that not everyone will make a claim at the same time. After a large scale disaster (reference Hurricane Andrew in Florida) if there are too many claims the insurer runs out of money and needs a public bailout. Just like banks, not everyone can get their money at the same time.
Will the DR Govt bailout insurance companies so that they can fulfill their obligations? I have no idea.