Would your building survive an earthquake? Architects raise the alarm in the DR
Photo: Diario Libre“Not the entire housing stock can withstand an earthquake”: the warning from Dominican architects puts the spotlight on buildings constructed before modern regulations, in a country with significant seismic activity.
The underlying problem
Although updated technical standards exist — such as the R-001 regulation of 2011 and MIVED provisions — a large share of buildings erected before 1979, or during decades without strict oversight, lacks the structural resilience needed to withstand high-intensity earthquakes.
What should be done
Specialists call for auditing the existing building stock and prioritizing structural assessments of public-use buildings, hospitals, schools and collective housing. Prevention, they recall, is cheaper than reconstruction.
Why it matters now
The warning arrives amid recent seismic activity in the Caribbean region, reviving the question of how many Dominican buildings would actually be ready for the day the ground shakes hard.
The key figure
2011. The year of the R-001 regulation: everything built before was left outside modern seismic standards.
