El Caribe reports that the 6.5 magnitude earthquake damaged 73 schools in 15 cities from one side of the country to the other. The provinces of Puerto Plata and Santiago were the most severely affected, but schools in San Cristobal, Santo Domingo and Monte Plata in the southcentral part of the country were also damaged. With the exception of Santiago Rodriguez, all other provinces in the Cibao Valley reported damages to their schools. Jaime Duran, a spokesman for the Public Works Ministry, told reporters that many of the schools were not built to the specifications required. President Mejia observed that only by the grace of God were there just three deaths attributed to the quake – two were victims of heart attacks and another was a sleeping watchman killed in the collapse of a brothel – and noted that the loss of life could have been far greater. He mentioned that in Puerto Plata the second floor of the Reform High School collapsed onto the first floor, in which ten classrooms that normally hold 65 students each were demolished by the quake. The complete list of the damaged schools can be found in today’s El Caribe.
News reports say that school reopened yesterday in Puerto Plata at non-damaged buildings, eight days after the Monday, 22 September earthquake and aftershocks kept students home.
News reports are focusing on the construction vices affecting the public schools, contrary to most private schools.