Tsunami precautions and warning system

[NewsWhore]

The director of the Seismology Institute at the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo, Juan Payero de Jesus, reports that the institute is working together with similar bodies in Cuba and Puerto Rico in order to work out strategies for dealing with tsunamis (also called "tidal waves") and their effects on the Dominican Republic. Historically speaking, several tsunamis have affected the island of Hispaniola, and the most recent, in 1946, killed dozens in the Nagua area. Payero de Jesus said that efforts to establish a warning system are being coordinated with the United States, Haiti and other countries, including Cuba. The seismologist reported that in 1751 a tsunami affected Santo Domingo, in 1757 another affected the area around Samana, and in May 1842 the Monte Cristi area was battered by a tsunami that killed an estimated five or six thousand people. Again, in 1918, the area of Punta Cana and Cortecito were affected by "tidal waves" caused by an earthquake in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. The last registered tsunami was in August 1946, which engulfed the village of Matancitas, near Nagua, in Maria Trinidad Sanchez province. One of the institute's chief concerns is that the Dominican Republic does not have the necessary equipment to track earthquakes from distant neighbors or a tsunami alert system in place for coastal areas.

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