Experts to evaluate city buildings

Santo Domingo.- TheDominican government now has its first technical team for the evaluation of “SafeStructures”.

The group is made up of 12 professionals from theNational Seismic Evaluation and Vulnerability of Infrastructure and Buildings(ONESVIE), from the Public Works Ministry and the National Geological Service

The team will be evaluating more than 23 buildings inthe National District over the next few months. Based on the assessments, they willmake recommendations aimed at reducing the vulnerability of the buildings inthe event of a high-magnitude earthquake.

This initiative is part of a project called “The studyof seismic threat and physical vulnerability in Greater Santo Domingo,” whichis being implemented by the National Geological Survey with support from theUnited Nations Development Program (UNDP) and funded by the European Union.

It seeks to reduce earthquake risk in Santo Domingo throughstudies that establish the vulnerability and threats posed to the city in theevent of earthquakes.

These studies are intended to serve as a basis forstrengthening the capacities of the country’s disaster prevention andmanagement institutions.