Santo Domingo yet to be tested

[Dolores]

There is a downside to having gone almost 10 years since a hurricane has hit Santo Domingo. We tend to become lax and too optimistic about these storms continuing to skip us.

There has been dramatic growth of towers since Georges hit in 1998, and all these towers will have to be tested in the next big storm.
Have been noticing the widespread use of panoramic windows sans protection and wonder how the city would fare if a repeat of Georges or David were to come around.

Supposedly the glass that has been installed should withstand a Georges (Category 3), wonder about a David (category 4-5). Having lived through Georges with shutters on and seeing how these bloated, while continuing shut, I am curious of how the city would do. Seems the enthusiasm for installing shutters has not carried on to most of the towers, and I suppose these persons will be relying on taking our insurance.

Regardless, it is time to make that inventory of what you have in the house, update your insurance coverage, and if you do not have the shutters, have a contingency plan, especially if your dwelling hadn't already proven itself.

[JDJones]

Man Dolores,

You took the words right out of my mouth. I remember Georges all too well.

I had all of my windows boarded up too, but the water came in like there was a fire hose stuck into every one of them.

I agree that people get way too complacent. I'm already wondering how I'm going to attach the panels to my windows.

My young wife, bless her, thinks I'm nuts, and that I'm worried about nothing, but I don't feel like going through that indoor swimming pool act again.

[Ladybird]

I have been looking for the storm shutters, anyone know where to buy in Sosua/Cabarete?? someone said they sell them in Sabaneta??

[Keith R]

Reading your words, D, and recalling my family's Georges experience and the aftermath, I just shuddered involuntarily.

I was last in SD in 2005, and also noted all those towers, big windows, lack of shudders etc., thought the same thing. Well, actually, I thought how soon they forget.

I remember in the days before Georges hit most capitaleños told me not to worry about it, the DR rarely got hit head-on by hurricanes and the southern side of the island rarer still. To which I responded, and what about David? And they said, but that was 1979, and see how rare they are?

I sure hope that emergency planning in SD has improved considerably since 1998, because it was very poor then. I still recall most of the radio and TV stations going off the air for days because no one -- except some of the small evangelical radio stations, it seems -- had thought to have fully secured signal towers that were not on the top of some building (i.e., right in the line of hurricane's line of fire).

[Hillbilly]

Plus le change, plus c'est le mem chose.
They'll never change! This is a very astute observation, but only intelligent folks will even think about it and there has not be a word about this possibility in the papers....
Ladybird: Don't waste your money. Look around you. See all those old wooden buildings?? Some are a hundred years old. The North Coast does not get hit with big hurricanes...think more along the lines of what you need to survive a week or so without water or electricity. That's good planning.

I do believe that there are now over two hundred "towers" in central Santo Domingo....

Santiago is growing them like mushrooms and I wonder what kind of a quake they'll stand up to....

Great post D...

HB