Santiago report on Tavera incident

[NewsWhore]

The Santiago Citizens Commission that was put together as a private initiative to look into the handling of the Tavera Dam in the days and hours before the release of more than fifty million gallons of water all at once, which caused more than 100 deaths and billions in financial damage, has issued its findings. One of the main recommendations was that the Emergency Operation Manual for the country's dams needed to be revised and updated. The commission's final conclusion was that there had been negligence in the handling of the six floodgates that were opened in a panic move last 11 and 12 December. The commission was composed of Rafael Corominas, Orlando Franco, Osiris de Leon, Ervin Vargas, Danilo Gonzalez, Rolando Martinez, Roberto Suriel, Carlos Manuel Estrella, Jose Devarez and Emmanuel Castillo. The 150-page report reveals that the six floodgates were not opened gradually, two by two, as required in the current manual, but rather suddenly, all at once, releasing as much as 6,000 cubic meters of water each second (1.584 million gallons per second). The report says, "Upon seeing that at 10:00 o'clock at night the water level in the lake had reached the 326 MASL (meters above sea level) mark, and that it was still raining heavily, the correct move was to inform Civil Defense and the Emergency Operations Committee (COE) in order to evacuate the residents in the areas close to the Yaque River banks, and begin dumping 500 cubic meters per second from the dam". The civilian commission's report was produced before the official government commission has even held one full session, according to commentators from Diario Libre.
For the complete report, see http://www.elnuevodiario.com.do/app/article.aspx?id=88712

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