Prevention 360 conference highlights Dominican Republic’s seismic and climate risks

Santo Domingo.- The “Prevention 360” keynote conference brought together top national and international experts in geology, meteorology, and emergency management in Santo Domingo to assess the seismic and climate risks facing the Dominican Republic.

The event focused on urban vulnerability, land-use planning, structural resilience, and the importance of strengthening public preparedness for earthquakes, hurricanes, and floods. Featured speakers included Chilean geographer Marcelo Lagos, meteorologist John Morales, and environmental psychologist Laís Pinto De Carvalho, who explored crisis response and human behavior during extreme events.

Dominican officials, including José Ignacio Paliza, geologist Osiris de León, and COE Director Juan Manuel Méndez, highlighted local response capabilities and infrastructure challenges. The conference also underscored growing climate concerns, as the country experiences record heat and increasingly erratic rainfall, with intense downpours linked to tropical waves and unusually warm Atlantic waters.