Subtropical Storm OLGA was Late Season Tropical Depression 94

[Lambada]

Originally Posted by Chip

It is probably a foregone conclusion that heads aren't going to roll for this gaffe, assuming that all the initial info we have is confirmed to be correct.

No I think some will, remember it is the run up to an election. Plus, it looks like the judicial system will be involved - relatives of victims are pursuing a civil plaint according to El Nacional.
El Nacional, la voz de todos

[Chip]

Originally Posted by Lambada

No I think some will, remember it is the run up to an election. Plus, it looks like the judicial system will be involved - relatives of victims are pursuing a civil plaint according to El Nacional.
El Nacional, la voz de todos

I certainly hope you are right. If there is anything that sometimes causes me to second guess moving here it is the lack of accountability. Someone should at the very least lose their job and their pension over this and be publicy castigated.

[drtampa]

Miss Lambada,
As expected, your news on ginniebedggood.com gave a very accurate summary of these terrible events.
Thank you.

[Lambada]

Originally Posted by mido

It looks like there was a lot less rain than Dominican authorities claim.
According to NASA it was only a third part of the amount.

Source: NASA dice Olga sólo trajo 75 milímetros de lluvia

And according to ONAMET, NASA 1) is wrong 2) wouldn't know anyway unless ONAMET provided the data 3) probably didn't send a report to Listin & 4) Listin only published it to fill space!

I won't comment!

La República - Minimiza informe de la NASA sobre cantidad de lluvia

P.S. Thank you, drtampa.

[Chip]

Originally Posted by Lambada

And according to ONAMET, NASA 1) is wrong 2) wouldn't know anyway unless ONAMET provided the data 3) probably didn't send a report to Listin & 4) Listin only published it to fill space!

I won't comment!

La República - Minimiza informe de la NASA sobre cantidad de lluvia

P.S. Thank you, drtampa.

This is intersting becasue I was talking with SantiagoDR yesterday and he asked me what I thought of this whole mess and I told him to expect the Dom. politicians to start a policy of hemhawing and misinformation to confuse the normally ignorant public just enough so that they really aren't sure what happened. I now understand why the Dom. gov't. doesn't push for education reform.

[Celt202]

Originally Posted by A.Hidalgo

I'm the first to admit that the government of the Dominican Republic leaves a lot to be desired.....but there comes a point were criticism turns into just plain ugly bashing.

Point taken.

I have lived in Santo Domingo for five years and half years. I have legal residency.

I consider this place my home.

Dios Patria Libertad is a great ideal. When you have a circus like the events surrounding the release of water from the Taveras dam you see the depth of the inadequacy of how things work here.

[Chip]

Originally Posted by A.Hidalgo

I'm the first to admit that the government of the Dominican Republic leaves a lot to be desired.....but there comes a point were criticism turns into just plain ugly bashing.

Sorry primo, I'm going to have to agree with Celt on this one. Democratic governments are there to serve the people and be accountable. While hemhawing and propaganda are part and parcel of the democratic process, the level of unaccountability that is seen here in the DR on a daily basis is vomit inducing to say the least. This has been to date the worst part of my experience in moving to the DR. At least in the States if something happens you know heads are going on the chopping block, ie H. Katrina, Enron etc. What happens here? ....exactly.

[Chris]

Let's stick to the DR. At least we can all be of one mind.
Democracy has nothing to do with drowning people by incompetence.
Neither has any of the other methods of control over the proletariat, like new democracy, social democracy, socialism, communism or any of those. So, let's steer clear of those OK.

[Lambada]

Originally Posted by Chris

............ drowning people by incompetence..........

According to Snr. Tejada this is dealt with by Article 319 of the Penal Code:'El artículo 319 del Código Penal, establece penas de multa y prisión a todo el que "por torpeza, imprudencia, inadvertencia, negligencia o inobservancia de los reglamentos, cometa homicidio involuntario, o sea causa involuntaria de él..." '
Opinión - A.M. - La verdad

In an interview carried out by Marino Zapete on Esta es la Vida, Channel 45, with Augusto Rodríguez Gallart, ex-director of INDRHI & an engineer with experience of dam construction, it was noted that in a study carried out in 1976 on the Tavera Dam by the US Bureau of Reclamations (funded by the InterAmerican Development Bank) it was recommended that each June when hurricane season started, the Tavera level should be reduced to 322 metres to avoid flooding. However, 'Dijo que en los últimos 10 años, esas recomendaciones no se han cumplido en la presa de Tavera, la cual se ha manejado siempre tratando de subirla lo mas posible para tener mucha agua para la generación de energía eléctrica.' i.e. in past 10 years those recommendations were not carried out & Tavera was kept at max. level to produce electricity.
Fue necesario abrir compuertas Presa Tavera - Diario Horizonte - Noticias Dominicanas - Quisqueya

Rodríguez Gallart afirma era prevenible problema de la presa de Tavera

If anyone can find the link to US 1976 study, I'd be grateful
Bureau of Reclamation Homepage

Another interesting article is about statistics concerning fatalities:
Cantidad de muertos que da oficialidad por riada Yaque del Norte podrÃ*a no ser la real
Interview therein with a Haitian survivor who said that the worst affected areas of Santiago had many lodging houses where Haitian construction workers lived (& died) and that these do not appear to be featuring in the official statistics.

[Hillbilly]

As some of you know i am a very good friend of Mr. Tejada, and I truly respect his opinions. In more than one occasion his editorial has been truly courageous. I cannot imagine the frustration, the feeling of impotence, the rage that "thinking people" of this nation are feeling as more and more truths are unveiled.

As anecdotal evidence, a good friend from the lower part of town reported this to me as we drove to Santo Domingo on Saturday.
"All the families that were evacuated left one member in the house to "watch over their things", you know, those things that they could not carry away: The television, the washing machine, the beds..." "All those people left behind were drowned."

This is a scary report if it is even 50% true.

Lambada, your scouring of the media is great!!

HB