Consultants say a wall that collapsed and killed 9 within the Dominican Republic capital was poorly constructed
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — A concrete wall alongside an avenue within the Dominican Republic’s capital that collapsed over the weekend and killed 9 folks throughout heavy rains was poorly designed, consultants stated Monday.
The federal government of the Caribbean nation has come underneath scrutiny, with consultants saying they’d warned greater than 20 years in the past in regards to the wall’s failures and lack of effort to repair them.
“It has weaknesses within the design,” civil engineer Cristian Rojas advised The Related Press. “No anchors have been positioned, and that’s the reason the wall collapsed.”
Rojas, former president of the Dominican School of Engineers, Architects and Surveyors, stated the drive of the water in a flooded adjoining avenue, mixed with the kind of wall that was constructed, led to the collapse.
Dominican geologist Osiris de Léon recalled that the primary warnings in regards to the wall have been made greater than 20 years in the past. He posted a narrative from December 1999 on X, previously referred to as Twitter, by which El Siglo newspaper quoted the school recommending that the wall be rebuilt as a result of it was cracked and “it might probably fall and trigger a tragic accident.”
The collapse occurred Saturday in Santo Domingo when a portion of the wall that runs alongside the closely transited 27 of February Avenue fell in a single piece, crushing vehicles and their occupants, authorities stated.
Among the many victims was Puerto Rico prosecutor Michael Orozco, his spouse, María Nereida Martínez, and his in-laws, in accordance with Javier Rivera, president of the island’s Affiliation of Prosecutors. Martínez was pregnant.
“Comrade Orozco was dwelling an exquisite private second along with his household, and as a younger, dedicated lawyer, a promising future awaited him,” Rivera stated.
Additionally killed was Dominican Police Gen. Eduardo Cabrera Castillo, authorities stated.
Andrés Matos, spokesman for the Ministry of Public Works, rejected accusations that the federal government didn’t correctly keep the wall and close by infrastructure.
“These tunnels and overpasses are given everlasting upkeep,” Matos advised the AP. He attributed the collapse to different causes however declined to supply particulars.
“The ministry is ordering a deep, structuralist investigation, which means that we must always not get forward of the causes,” he stated.
The collapse occurred as a tropical disturbance moved through the western Caribbean, battering the Dominican Republic with heavy rains over the weekend. Authorities stated at the very least 24 folks died, together with these crushed by the wall.
The storm tore tin roofs off a whole lot of houses and lower off entry to almost a dozen communities, authorities stated.
Officers in neighboring Haiti, which shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic, stated two folks died after being swept away by floodwaters.
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Related Press reporter Dánica Coto in San Juan, Puerto Rico, contributed.
