I will not tell you anything,except that I know numerous engineers here who have good experience and qualificationss and take their work very seriously and adhere to standards that they have been taught . I am sure, just as in other countries, there are many shoddy builders....but all this off the subject .
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many buildings in SD will not withstand large earthquake
http://elnacional.com.do/codia-afirma-90-obras-son-ilegales/
Well the body representing the Architects and Engineers take their job seriously and have put it on record last year.
Sad thing is that 90% of buildings get built illegally without the adequate checks and there lies the problem for all of us.
I guess the 'maestro's' know better
Significant earthquakes generate two distinct types of seismic waves. The first, the Primary waves, are a fast moving back and forth movement (Similar to blast waves). Seconds after these waves have passed comes the slower moving Secondary waves that deliver an undulating up and down shake. Rigid construction that doesn't allow for some movement often doesn't far well and comes apart at the joints when subjected to prolonged S wave movement.
That would be your roof falling down. Without the roof to provide downward pressure on the walls, they collapse soon afterwards. It is important to remember, the earthquakes we have experienced in the DR over the past years have been relatively small in intensity and very short in duration. Large earthquakes can shake the ground for minutes at a time. I think I read the Fukushima earthquake lasted for longer than 3 minutes. That duration of shaking in this country will turn many concrete structures to dust. There does not appear to be any bedrock to build on here. Just ancient coral and caleche <sp?> The ground just might sink out from under buildings.
The classification scale used for earthquakes is not linear. A magnitude 6 earthquake is 10 times more powerful than a magnitude 5, a magnitude 7 is 100 times more powerful than magnitude 5 and a mag. 8 is 1000 times more powerful than a mag. 5 - truly apocalyptic type forces involved. There comes a point when construction codes don't really matter. When intensity and duration pass a certain point, everything comes down. I am not an engineer, but I doubt concrete block with rebar will fare well in a big shake.
I live next to an empty field. When I figure out why my world is moving, I'm out of the house towards the field as fast as my unsteady legs can take me assuming the field hasn't liquefied into a temporary swamp or is sliding g away from me faster than I can run.
That would be your roof falling down. Without the roof to provide downward pressure on the walls, they collapse soon afterwards. It is important to remember, the earthquakes we have experienced in the DR over the past years have been relatively small in intensity and very short in duration. Large earthquakes can shake the ground for minutes at a time. I think I read the Fukushima earthquake lasted for longer than 3 minutes. That duration of shaking in this country will turn many concrete structures to dust. There does not appear to be any bedrock to build on here. Just ancient coral and caleche <sp?> The ground just might sink out from under buildings.
The classification scale used for earthquakes is not linear. A magnitude 6 earthquake is 10 times more powerful than a magnitude 5, a magnitude 7 is 100 times more powerful than magnitude 5 and a mag. 8 is 1000 times more powerful than a mag. 5 - truly apocalyptic type forces involved. There comes a point when construction codes don't really matter. When intensity and duration pass a certain point, everything comes down. I am not an engineer, but I doubt concrete block with rebar will fare well in a big shake.
I live next to an empty field. When I figure out why my world is moving, I'm out of the house towards the field as fast as my unsteady legs can take me assuming the field hasn't liquefied into a temporary swamp or is sliding g away from me faster than I can run.
Built before they knew about earthquake fault lines. Remember in California they knew about the San Andres fault-line, which you can actually see and they still build on it or around it.
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The Septentrional Fault passing through the Cibao can be clearly seen too.
See page 1 and scroll down to page 7 and 8 of the link. Better still read the interesting link if you live in the Cibao and North Coast
http://www.colonialzone-dr.com/dominican-earthquake-fault.pdf
They built the original Santiago on it and after it got wiped out they moved the city further away.
More in line with the OP, I just came back into the city on the Autopista 2 from Bani and looked up and wondered about those dwellings of several storeys 'hanging' on the steep hillsides by the 'peaje'. Enough said if you know the location.