More than 40 scientists gathered in Puerto Plata last week for the Penrose Conference. They confirmed that the DR is located on a major seismic fault capable of producing strong earthquakes that principally would affect the Cibao valley, from the peninsula of Samana to Haitian territory, including northwest provinces. The experts carried out field investigations in Samana, Nagua, Matancitas, Cabo Frances Viejo, Salcedo, Tamboril, Altamira, Casta?uelas and Montecristi. The event was organized by the Dominican Society of Seismology (SODOSISMICA), presided by engineer Hector I?iquez and the Dominican Committee for the Mitigation of Disasters (CDMD), an organization affiliated to the Organization of American States and coordinated in the DR by Christine Herridge. The conference was financed by sponsored by the Geological Society of the America and by other scientific organizations, including US and European research centers and universities. Participating in the conference were Paul Mann, of the Geophysics Institute of Texas; Nancy Grindley, of the Department of Earth Sciences of the University of North Carolina; Eric Calais, of the Geoscience Research Group of France; Sergio Chiesa, of Geotecnia in Santo Domingo; Bill McCann, of the Group of Earth Consultants of Westminster; Robert Max Landridge, of the University of Oregon; Tim Kusky of the University of Boston; Stefan Hettel, of the Geophysics Institute of the University of Karlsruhe, Germany; Romeo Llinas, of Geotecnia of Santo Domingo; Alan Levander of Rice University of Houston. Also Jim Peindell of the Tectonic Analysis Group of England; Matitia Tuttle of the Department of Geology of the University of Maryland; Ramon Vega, of the Dynamics Department of the Universidad Complutense in Madrid; Alberto Lopez Venegas, of the Mayaguez University in Puerto Rico; Raul Ysaccis of the Geological Exploration Group of Caracas, Venezuela; Grenville Draper, of the Geology Department of the Florida International University; and Lazlo Fodor, of the Eotvos University in Hungary. Also, Carol Prentice, of the US Department of Geology; Carlos Moya of the University of Colorado’ Rafael Corominas of the Seismic Investigation Group of the DR, and Juan Tomas Vasquez, of the Faculty of Sciences of the Sea of the Universidad de Cadiz, Spain.
