Structural engineer and seismological expert, Rafael Corominas Pepin alerted in an interview in Hoy newspaper that first floor garages could be major safety concerns for high rise condominium buildings. Corominas says that the first floor parking area must be designed to support itself and the building in the case of an earthquake. He said that if not, the structure could become a mortal trap in the case of a damaging earthquake. He says of special concern are constructions whereby the building stands on columns that house the parking lot. He said these buildings should be reinforced despite having to sacrifice some of the parking area in the garage. For this to happen, the condominium owners have to become aware of the vulnerability of their building in order to request these improvements for their own safety.
Corominas Pepin is president of the Seismic Engineering Foundation. He highlighted that the Dominican Republic sits on a high-risk earthquake zone and is subject to periodic catastrophic earthquakes. Last year, the central area of Santiago and Puerto Plata suffered a magnitude six earthquake on the Richter scale.
Corominas Pepin says that it is a given that the country will suffer a major earthquake in the future. He said this was determined by an international conference of geologists held in the country in 1999. He highlighted that what is important is that the structures be revised to ensure that they can withstand a strong earthquake. He said that earthquakes do not kill people. He explained that what kills people are structures that are built by man that are not designed or built to withstand natural phenomenons.
Engineer Romeo Llinas, mining advisor of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, said in the same interview with Hoy that the country suffered an 8.1 Richter earthquake in 1946. He concurs that major earthquakes have historically happened with 70-80 year periods, and justified that the country build accordingly. The 80-year period would be up in ten years.
Engineer Leonardo Reyes Madera, coordinator of the proposed new construction code, also spoke during the interview and mentioned that a new building code is proposed that establishes guidelines that would make constructions structurally sound for major earthquakes, improving on the 1979 code.