The global structural engineering firm, Miyamoto International that already has operations in seven nations, announced plans to add offices in the Dominican Republic within a year. The company was active in Haiti following the 2010 earthquake and received the ENR engineering industry publication award for Best Global Projects for the renovation and repair work done in Haiti.
The company is also very active in earthquake-prone California.
A top executive of the company, Kit Miyamoto, told the Sacramento Bee newspaper that technology exists to give high-rises the kind of superior performance that will maintain their structural integrity even following a major earthquake. Miyamoto estimates that the integration of the improved building materials and practices would only add 2-5% to the cost of the building.
http://www.sacbee.com/2014/04/24/6349002/cathie-anderson-the-world-beckons.html#storylink=cpy