The Office of Vulnerability and Seismology regarding Public and Private Infrastructure (ONESVIE) has asked the public to be alert and aware of possible seismological movements (tremors or earthquakes) and to follow the recommendations of the corresponding agencies and scientists in the area.
Hispaniola and Puerto Rico are situated on the Caribbean Tectonic Plate that borders the North American Plate. This regularly moves 2 cm per year, according to Omar Guevara, the ONESVIE director. The director was referring to the 6.4 quake on the Richter scale that hit the south of Puerto Rico over the Three Kings holiday and the more than 200 aftershocks of 3.0 and above that have followed.
As noted geologist Osiris de Leon has said on numerous occasions, here in the Dominican Republic, constructions built on soft earth rather than rock will experience much greater damage during an earthquake. According to Guevara, the events of Puerto Rico have awakened the awareness of Dominicans and pushed knowledge of these events to the forefront. Awareness and preparation are the key elements, says Guevara.
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El Dia
El Dia
22 January 2020