Hurricane & Tropical Storms and the Economy

[A.Hidalgo]

It looks like some professionals of Santiago are taking things into their own hands to launch their own investigation of what happened with the Presa Tavera debacle....lets hope they are independent and not beholden to no one so we can get to the bottom of what happened.

SANTIAGO/República Dominicana.- Ante la tardanza de las autoridades para ofrecer detalles sobre el manejo dado a la presa de Tavera para desagüe durante el paso de la tormenta Olga, un grupo de profesionales de la ciudad de Santiago conformaron una comisión con la intención de hacer sus propias averiguaciones.

The above basically states that because of the delay of the authorities in offering details of the management of the Tavera Dam, a group of professionals from Santiago will form a commission to investigate the happenings.

Santiago tendrá su propia comisión para investigar caso presa Tavera

[Lambada]

Thanks Alfredo from your friend who was 'covering the other channel' i.e. posting it in a different forum .
Subtropical Storm OLGA was Late Season Tropical Depression 94

I think they'll be a lot more independent than the official commission - they have Osiris de Leon, after all, who has already proved his ability to challenge things (soil sampling for the Metro or lack thereof). There is an association with the PRSC I gather so we have to bear that in mind, but then the mayor of Santiago is PRSC & it is his territory which has been affected. I think it's a very good thing that the Mayor is of a different party than the Governor otherwise there could be the whitewashing syndrome (see links on other thread).

[NotLurking]

Originally Posted by Lambada

Any word from your cousin yet NotLurking?

Lambada, I finally spoke with my cousin yesterday and he confirmed that Las Barias dam is MIA. He specifically said that there is no Las Barias dam, only Contra-Embalse and Valdesia. He also said that although the dam* isn't recognized by locals as Las Barias dam it 'could' be considered "Contra-Embalse de Las Barias" but I suspect that it was the diplomat in him suggesting that.

With respect to Jiguey-Aguacate, my cousin told me I was mistaken, that Jiguey-Aguacate is usually referred by the locals as one entity but in fact they are two separate dam located relatively close together. He also told me the Aguacate is more modern than Valdesia and much more efficient.


NotLurking

*I use the word dam here for lack of a better word but I don't consider this a dam.

[Lambada]

Many thanks NotLurking. MIA...........LOL I DO hope your uncle's claim doesn't go MIA. Please keep us posted.

[PICHARDO]

Sadly it's the poorest of the country that get the hammer from all this...

I believe that the gov should put up a ban on ANY housing not made of cinder blocks and concrete, top to bottom...

Tin roofs should be outlawed 100%!!! They become the #1 killer when aerial from the winds, and pose a great risk to rescuers in the water...

The aftermath of any storm/ciclon/whatever should be just like it's 100% of the time, some fallen trees, broken limbs and debris on the streets... Nothing else is seen affecting any solid concrete house or school.

We should ban people from erecting these death traps in the vicinity of rivers and low lying lands prone to flood.

The fact that over 1 million poor of the poorest Haitians have made the DR home and their related families, have added a huge over 11 to 20% layer of poverty to the country that can't be managed at all. They build where they can get away with it, just like any poor Dominican family does as well.

To the best of my recollection, some 30 or so years back, not a single hut was erected by the river banks now the aftermath of the Taveras havoc there...
The lower parts next to the circumvalacion, where NO housing rows existed, but car parking lots made to look like houses. The Baracoa and la Joya neither extended lower than some 250 meters from the bank's edge...

The Yaque River was much more affluent than it is nowadays to the point that, the Hermanos Patino Bridge was in fact due its height from water level...

It should be a priority of any gov to eliminate any of these settlements in so many dangerous places, by allocating a VAT (tax) to beer and alcoholic beverages of 1 peso; paid y consumers much like the bottle deposit at sale point.

This way the gov can raise the money to fund multifamiliares for the evicted, given their proof of residence. Let's not forget that the DR can't take Haiti's poorest mass on its own, just to appease international outcry. If they care so much, let them take one quarter of what we allow already to be in our soil, each...

What did you think? That a poor Dominican farmer from Jarabacoa would come to Santiago and build a hut in the river bank, just so that he could get a job?

I blame our gov for the havoc that runs amok in our cities and towns, just so that big biz can enjoy cheap labor to fill their pockets even more...

If I described the setting of the Yaque River around the Hermanos Patino of yore for you, must certainly it would look like I was on PCP to you...

Sadly, it's the poorest that pay the price of incompetent people at our highest places of Law and order...

[Keith R]

Released today from the World Bank:

Dominican Republic: World Bank Approves US$80 Million for Infrastructure Rehabilitation and Disaster Management

WASHINGTON, May 1, 2008— The World Bank Board of Directors today approved an US$80 million loan for the Dominican Republic to support the country’s recovery efforts after Tropical Storms Noel and Olga.

“We have responded positively to the Dominican government request for support, because we understand the adverse social and economic impact that this kind of natural occurrences have in the countries of the region,” said Yvonne Tsikata, World Bank Director for the Caribbean. “This financing will support the government’s efforts to alleviate the conditions of thousands of affected families,” Tsikata added.

The Emergency Recovery and Disaster Management Project will finance rebuilding and restoring physical assets in the electricity, irrigation and water supply sectors. In addition, it will support measures to mitigate potential effects of future emergencies.

At the end of 2007, the Dominican Republic was hit by two unexpected tropical storms that left thousands of families homeless. The storms also damaged crops and destroyed roads, bridges, as well as important electricity infrastructure and irrigation systems. In that sense, the new loan will contribute to the rehabilitation efforts and to strengthen the management capacity of key government institutions.

The new initiative seeks to:
• Restore irrigation, electricity, water, and sanitation infrastructure damaged by Tropical Storms Olga and Noel; and

• Improve the capacity of the National Institute of Hydraulic Resources
(INDRHI) and the Dominican Corporation of State Electrical Companies (CDEEE) for future risk management.

By the end of the project, it is expected to restore the functioning of services in targeted project areas, and improve disaster risk management systems for irrigation, water resources management, and electricity.

This US$80 million fixed-spread loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) is repayable in 30 years, including five years of grace.

[Skippy1]

Hurricans floods and natural disasters are the backbone of the DR economy its the only way to get the books to balance at the end of the fiscal year.

Donations replace the money stolen by the ministers.

Skippy1

[Keith R]

The corrected link for the above press release is: News & Broadcast - Dominican Republic: World Bank Approves US$80 Million for Infrastructure Rehabilitation and Disaster Management
And for those wanting to read it in Spanish: Noticias - República Dominicana: Banco Mundial aprueba US$80 millones para rehabilitación de infraestructura y gestión de desastres