NewsWhore
01-13-2010, 12:50 PM
An earthquake registering 7.0 on the Richter scale, with the epicenter located 15kms south of the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, was felt at 5:54pm DR time in the southern, southwestern, central and northern parts of the Dominican Republic yesterday. It was preceded by a 5.9 earthquake at 5:53pm and followed by 33 aftershocks, including 9 ranging from 5 to 5.5.
In Haiti, thousands of people are said to have been killed and damage is estimated in the billions. In the DR, the earthquake caused no material damage or deaths, according to an assessment by the Dominican government and its emergency assistance teams. Nevertheless, the Emergency Operations Center (COE) did issue a preventive tsunami watch for coastal areas shortly after the earthquake, but this was later lifted.
The earthquake occurred when energy was released along the seismic fault at the level of Enriquillo Lake, known as the Enriquillo-Plaintain Garden fault system in southern Haiti. One of the conclusions of the Penrose Conference, held in Puerto Plata in 1999, was that the Haitian region was overdue for a massive catastrophic earthquake.
Dominican geologist Osiris de Leon explained that the Port-au-Prince area was especially vulnerable because the city is built on flexible clay ground. Construction in the city did not take the high earthquake risk into account.
Dozens of international journalists and aid workers are arriving in Santo Domingo to travel overland to Haiti because the airport in Port-au-Prince has suffered serious damage. A helicopter has landed at Plaza de la Salud with injured staff from the MINUSTAH peacekeeping force in Haiti.
Meanwhile, the rest of the country remains on green alert. COE director Brigadier General Juan Manuel Mendez Garcia said that the alert was issued as a precautionary measure in case evacuations were necessary and in order to keep the Civil Defense, Public Health and the Armed Forces assistance teams on stand-by. He called on the population to remain calm and monitor official reports.
For more details on the Penrose Conference, see:
www.ig.utexas.edu/research/projects/caribbean/... (http://www.ig.utexas.edu/research/projects/caribbean/publications/penrose/penrose_fg.htm)
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#1)
In Haiti, thousands of people are said to have been killed and damage is estimated in the billions. In the DR, the earthquake caused no material damage or deaths, according to an assessment by the Dominican government and its emergency assistance teams. Nevertheless, the Emergency Operations Center (COE) did issue a preventive tsunami watch for coastal areas shortly after the earthquake, but this was later lifted.
The earthquake occurred when energy was released along the seismic fault at the level of Enriquillo Lake, known as the Enriquillo-Plaintain Garden fault system in southern Haiti. One of the conclusions of the Penrose Conference, held in Puerto Plata in 1999, was that the Haitian region was overdue for a massive catastrophic earthquake.
Dominican geologist Osiris de Leon explained that the Port-au-Prince area was especially vulnerable because the city is built on flexible clay ground. Construction in the city did not take the high earthquake risk into account.
Dozens of international journalists and aid workers are arriving in Santo Domingo to travel overland to Haiti because the airport in Port-au-Prince has suffered serious damage. A helicopter has landed at Plaza de la Salud with injured staff from the MINUSTAH peacekeeping force in Haiti.
Meanwhile, the rest of the country remains on green alert. COE director Brigadier General Juan Manuel Mendez Garcia said that the alert was issued as a precautionary measure in case evacuations were necessary and in order to keep the Civil Defense, Public Health and the Armed Forces assistance teams on stand-by. He called on the population to remain calm and monitor official reports.
For more details on the Penrose Conference, see:
www.ig.utexas.edu/research/projects/caribbean/... (http://www.ig.utexas.edu/research/projects/caribbean/publications/penrose/penrose_fg.htm)
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#1)