1998 – Page 52

The Minister of Public Health said that the hurricane destroyed 217 schools, and 727 suffered damages, including 347 that lost their roofs. The Ministry is hard at work to restore these roofs by mid October. There are 6,700 public schools in the DR. Minister Ligia Amada Melo estimated the losses at RD$391 million. Most affected …

Read more…

The Minister of Public Works says that irregularities and problems with the design and construction of the Paris Expressway in the city of Santo Domingo are delaying the completion of the expressway by that department. The overpass was designed and built by the Municipality of Santo Domingo under the government of Dr. Rafael Suberví, which …

Read more…

The director of Parks, Omar Ramírez said that this time around the city should be replanted with native species of trees that are more resistant to tropical storms than the imported varieties that were planted in recent years. He said that after the passing of Hurricane David in 1979 the government planted imported species because …

Read more…

The Mayor of New York, Rudolph Giuliani visited the DR over last weekend. During his stay he visited the Hospital Carl T. Georg, public hospital of San Pedro de Macoris, one of the most affected by the hurricane. The hospital suffered severe damages to its third floor where the pediatrics area is located. The City …

Read more…

The Supreme Court of Justice ruled that judges cannot be removed from their posts when they are 75 years old. The court also expressed that several other articles of the Judicial Career Law and the National Council of the Magistracy, the body that elects the Supreme Court judges, are contrary to the Constitution. Several civic …

Read more…

The National Commission of Evaluation of Damages and Needs of Hurricane Georges reported the death toll is at 249 persons as of 31 September 1998. The commission reported there are 75 persons disappeared, 557 injured and 120,681 homeless. The damages are assessed at RD$18 billion. The government has a set aside RD$10 million to aid …

Read more…

The president of the Dominican College of Engineers and Architects (CODIA) said that an estimated 60,000 houses were affected by Georges. He estimated 60% can be repaired because they were built of wood and zinc houses property of impoverished Dominicans. He said that the CODIA and the government Instituto Nacional de Viviendas will build 10,000 …

Read more…

President Leonel Fernández said that the country is recuperating at an impressive pace. He said that the Dominican people are again using their full creative capacity to bring things back to normal. "I feel that in many places the measures have been taken to put behind us the hurricane’s ravages and I aspire that we …

Read more…

The US government has allotted a US$35 million aid fund to carry out several programs to assist victims of Hurricane Georges. A mission head by the world director of the Agency for International Development, J. Brian Attwood arrived yesterday to coordinate the aid. Attwood is also special coordinator for international disasters for the President’s office. …

Read more…

The National Theater will re-open 7 October with the first performance of the National Symphony Orchestra as their 1998-1999 season opens. Julio de Windt, who is the director of the National Symphony Orchestra will conduct this first concert with the special performance of violoncellist Andrés Díaz. The program for the evening is Dvorak’s Symphony No. …

Read more…