Tag Archives: santiago

Weather/Clima

Earthquakes & Terremotos

Earthquake / Terremotos / Temblor de Tierra Information for
Dominican Republic

Earthquakes / los Terremotos/ Temblor de Tierra

Yes, we do have earthquakes in Dominican Republic. We call an Earthquake in Spanish a Terremoto or Temblor de Tierra. Whatever you want to call them we do have this earth-shaking phenomenon occurring here on our island and we do have many earthquakes. The island of Hispaniola does have seismic activity almost daily, as with many places throughout the world, but the activity is so small that usually it cannot be felt. Every so often the quakes are strong and they can be felt. You can feel the earth move and sway under your feet!

Fault Lines | Fault Line Map | What to Do | Largest Quakes in Dominican Republic | The Quake Sept. 2003 | Recommended Emergency Products | Links to Earthquake Related Web Sites

The island of Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles chain of islands, rose out of the sea due to volcanic action. Dominican Republic has a long history of volcanic and seismic activity. The tallest mountain on the island, and for that matter in all of the Caribbean, is Pico Duarte. This mountain was at one time an active volcano. It rose out of the sea starting with this mountain and it is still rising. Many of the under water caves are not under water now. Don’t worry about Volcanoes for now. There are no active volcanos on our island.

Fault Lines

There are two major fault systems or lines that run through the island. In the North Hispaniola Trench. It is located just offshore running parallel to the north coast. The other is the Septentrional Fault Zone which runs from the North Hispaniola Trench to the Cibao Valley and Santiago. The Septentrional Fault Zone is responsible for most of the earthquakes in Dominican Republic’s history.
View a PDF document of the fault lines going through Dominican Republic by www.ig.utexas.edu

The Puerto Rico Trench (on the Northern side of Puerto Rico and the Northeast tip of Dominican Republic), which is close to the Mona Passage, marks a boundary where the North American tectonic plate and the Caribbean tectonic plate slide past each other, with the North American plate also subducting or sliding beneath the Caribbean plate. With water depths of more than 8 km (5 mi) make the Puerto Rico Trench the deepest part in the entire Atlantic Ocean.(see the map and learn more)

The Mona Passage is the water pass that divides Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic in the northeastern Caribbean. This area is very earthquake prone. Since the water level in this passage between the two islands is quite low it is very susceptible to Tsunamis. This passage has very fast flowing and dangerous waters with shifting currents that occur when the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea meet.
http://soundwaves.usgs.gov/2007/05/

Fault Lines / Fallas Sísmicas

Map - Fault lines/ fallas sísmicas running through the island of Hispaniola.
Map – Fault lines/ fallas sísmicas running through the island of Hispaniola.

There are also many smaller fault lines/ fallas sísmicas running through the island of Hispaniola. This is a map from Emergency Operations Center (COE) showing all the lines running through Dominican Republic and Haiti.

Brochures – What To Do

Below are the instructional brochures put out by the Emergency Operations Center about what to do before and after an Earthquake happens. They are in Spanish. Click on the images to see the images to enlarge.

COE Instructional Brochure - What to do before earthquake in Spanish
COE Instructional Brochure – What to do before earthquake in Spanish
COE Instructional Brochure - What to do after an earthquake in Spanish
COE Instructional Brochure – What to do after an earthquake in Spanish

Many people say many different things one needs to do to be safe during an earthquake. Stand in a doorway, don’t stand in a doorway. Don’t go outside, get outside and away from buildings. Get under something inside your house, get in the “Triangle of Life” / “Triangulo de Vida” around a piece of furniture. While others say you need to “Drop, Cover, and Hold On.” / “Agacharse, cubrirse y agarrarse”. Our suggestion is to do a search and see what you should do in case an earthquake happens.

Make a plan with your family and loved ones what to do and where to meet in case of an emergency situation. We also suggest if you are coming on vacation don’t worry about it. Just come and enjoy. Leave all the worries at home and relax. Earthquakes do not happen often and the hotel staff will be there to inform all on their procedures.

The Largest Earthquakes

The largest earthquake on record in recent history for the Dominican Republic was August 15, 1946. It was recorded at 8.1 and centered in Matanza in Maria Trinidad Sánchez, Nagua on the northern part of the island (a large tsunami hit the coast from Arroyo Salado to Cabrera and left areas under water for about three weeks was recorded at that time).

Other notable quakes:
*1961 – 6.6 quake southeast of Santo Domingo.
*1971 – 6.0 quake registered in the Azua area.
*1991 – 7.0 quake recorded in the Central Mountains and San Juan de la Maguana area.
*March 1993 – a 5.2 earthquake affected the south and southwest parts of Dominican Republic along the Mona Passage.
*April 1993 – a 5.7 earthquake affected the Cibao region.
*June 1993 – a 5.1 earthquake affected San Francisco de Macoris area in the northeast.
*January 5th, 2012 – in Palmar de Ocoa (some information on the San Jose de Ocoa quake)
*January 22, 2012 – a 5.0 in the East near La Romana.
*January 23, 2012 – a 5.4 Rio San Juan.(some more information about this and more quakes in January 2012)
*May 28, 2014 – a 5.8 at Boca De Yuma – Mona Passage at 5:15PM
*February 4, 2019 – a 5.3 quake at 10:33AM. 31km SSE of Boca de Yuma, Dominican Republic. People felt it in Punta Cana, Santo Domingo, Haina, Bani, Las Terrenas and many other locations in the country.

There was a 9.0 earthquake when the Europeans occupied the island on December 2, 1562. It destroyed the cities of La Vega and Santiago. A quake estimated to be a 10.0 happened on October 18, 1751 and devastated the southern region. A terremoto estimated to be 11.0 happened on May 7, 1842 destroyed the north of Haiti and much of what is now the Dominican Republic.

There have been many earthquakes and tsunamis resulting from the tectonic-plate motions that have occurred in the history of the northeastern Caribbean.

Sept. 22, 2003 Quake

At 11:45 pm on 22 September 2003, a M 6.7 earthquake severely shook the northern part of Dominican Republic. It caused extensive damage to buildings in the major cities of Puerto Plata and Santiago along with landslides in the outlying areas. There were also several large aftershocks (over 200 in all) that happened in the days and hours following this quake.

Here are a few pictures of an earthquake that happened in September 2003. These were taken in the Puerta Plata area by our friend Cochman.

September 2003 Earthquake in Puerta Plata Dominican Republic house
September 2003 Earthquake in Puerta Plata Dominican Republic house
September 2003 Earthquake in Puerta Plata Dominican Republic store
September 2003 Earthquake in Puerta Plata Dominican Republic store
September 2003 Earthquake in Puerta Plata Dominican Republic observing the damage
September 2003 Earthquake in Puerta Plata Dominican Republic observing the damage
September 2003 Earthquake in Puerta Plata Dominican Republic house
September 2003 Earthquake in Puerta Plata Dominican Republic house

Recommended Emergency Products

The Earthquake Alarm (Amazon) can wake you up and alert you the moment a quake starts giving you more time to take cover.

*Operates off of a 9-volt battery.
*Loud distinctive alarm to wake you up.
*Can detect earthquakes miles away.
*Fully adjustable sensitivity setting. and more..(incluye instrucciones en espanol!)

I have heard many people use a detector and they say they work quite well. I recommend getting one if you live in any Earthquake prone area.

Another product that I read about is The Quake Escape

Ready America 70280 Emergency Kit, 2-Person, 3-Day Backpack. A backpack that keeps supplies at the ready. (Amazon)

*Sustains two people for three days
*Includes food, water, and emergency blankets
*One 33-piece first aid kit

NOAA Weather Radio and Solar Emergency Survival Device (Amazon)

*AM/FM Transmission
*Windup Power for Emergencies, Tornadoes, Hurricanes
*Micro USB Charger and Power Bank for Cell Phones and Electron

*The Dominican Republic Emergency Operations Center (COE). They now offer a downloadable App for emergency Alerts – Alerta COE.

Other instructions on how to prepare for an earthquake and other interesting web sites about earthquakes.
*ready.gov/earthquakes

*Acqweather, complete information on the weather in Dominican Republic.SPANISH

*Global Earthquake Monitor – list, news and maps of recent quakes worldwide.

*Create an Earthquake Emergency Handbook

*This is the Earthquake information from the Puerto Rico Seismic Network

*Earths view of Earthquake activity

*Quakes – Live Earthquakes Map and other interesting maps.

*Earthquake forecasting and hazard analysis.

*USGS Earthquakes Hazards Program has all the Earthquakes listed in the world for the last 7 days. The latest in USA and surrounding areas (including Dominican Republic – sometimes called Mona Passage) with an earthquake of Magnitude 2.5 or greater. All other areas of the world are listed when they have a quake with a Magnitude 4.0 or greater.

Important

Useless Trivia

Dominican Republic Dumb Facts, Trivia, and Useless Information

Here are all those facts you always wanted to know but just did not realize you wanted to know them. These may be very helpful when playing the game of Dominican Trivia that is so popular now (joke).

If you know of any more interesting and pertinent items to add please let me know. Let’s compile a list of all the useless, dumb, facts that everyone does not need to know.

Good reading for those who are bored, have nothing else to do with their time or are looking for some non-important good junk.

Note: We here at Colonial Zone-DR.com cannot vouch for the truth of this information. Consider the things listed here as fun, maybe true, could be true, maybe not true at all, or complete crap. It is all in fun, or is it?

*The worlds largest pot of Sancocho was prepared at the 7th Dominican Fair at La Sirena February 12, 2007. After 5 hours of cooking in a four meter cooking pot three thousand people got to eat this yummy, typical Dominican dish. Eleven chefs and their assistants used 300LBS of beef, 250LBS of pork, 150LBS of chicken, 500 plantains, 300LBS of malanga, plus the other ingredients used to make this hugh Dominican dish. (for information on how to make Sancocho)

Cooking some sancocho over a fire
Cooking some sancocho over a fire

*Even though Santiago is the second largest city in Dominican Republic, as of 2006 the metropolitan area of New York City had a larger population of Dominicans.

*There is an old law dating back to Trujillo’s era. He had the highest peak in the Caribbean known as Pico Duarte named after him. Legally, because of some kind of mistake, it is still called Pico Trujillo instead of Duarte.

*Dominican Republic has the only flag with a bible in it. It was designed by a Vexillographer (flag maker) who was a vexillologist (one who studies flags ) and into Vexillology (the study of flags). More information on the Dominican flag.

Dominican Republic flag among others
Dominican Republic flag among others

*In the Colonial Zone on July 8, 2001 the Association of Spanish Festivities in Dominican Republic held the islands first bull run, a version of Spains’ San Fermin bull run. A three-minute bull run took place from Calle Atarazana, through Vicente Celestino Duarte to Cristobal Colon. Youths raced and the poor, confused bulls had no idea what was happening. It seems that the Dominican bulls were just too lazy, resulting in them having to be pushed through the streets, instead of them chasing the participants.

*Did you know that there was a small town in Dominican Republic where it was discovered and documented in the early 1970s that girls turned into boys? It seems that children appearing to be girls turned into men at puberty. First girls when they reached puberty they grew testes, and a penis. They called these children ‘guevedoces’ which literally means “penis at 12 years”. Also known locally as machihembras (‘first women, then man’). It was published in the American Journal of Medicine. For pictures and more information http://www.usrf.org/news/010308-guevedoces.html

*The Austrian musician, Falco (Johann “Hans” Hölzel), famous for his electronic Euro-pop smash hit ‘Rock Me Amadeus’ in 1986, was killed in Dominican Republic. Returning to his home in Cofresí, Puerta Plata, after spending time drinking at a local bar, his vehicle was involved in a collision with a bus. He died instantly and was pronounced dead in the hospital on February 6th, 1998 from head injuries at the age of 40. He is buried in Vienna, Austria. There is a cross marking the location where Falco died in Montellano, Puerta Plata, Dominican Republic Falco CD on Amazon.

* Huracan is a Taino (natives that inhabited the island) word that is thought to have come originally from the Caribs (a cannibalistic tribe that also inhabited the island). Huracan was the Carib god of evil and that word is thought to have come from “Hurakan” who was the Mayan god of wind and storm. (More about hurricanes in Dominican Republic.)

*The longest baseball game in the Caribbean Baseball Series had 18 innings. The game was 6 hours and 13 minutes long. Played at the Roberto Clemente stadium in Puerto Rico February 2, 2007. The Aguilas Cibaeñas of Dominican Republic won 4 to 3 over the Tigres de Aragua of Venezuela.
Update – the Aguilas won the series for 2007!

A baseball game at the Estadio Quisqueya
A baseball game at the Estadio Quisqueya

*Lisa Marie Presley (Elvis Presley’s daughter) and Michael Joseph Jackson (Jackson 5) got married May 18, 1994. The ceremony was held at Casa de Campo in La Romano, Dominican Republic. Their marriage lasted only 20 months.

*Rush Limbaugh was detained by customs officers in Florida, USA when he landed after a visit to the Dominican Republic. He had a bottle of 29/ 100 MG pills of Viagra with him and he didn’t have a prescription! Bad Bad Rush!

*Can you speak only using your nose? Dominicans are famous for their “nose talk“. A little twitch here and a little wrinkle there. The nose knows.

*Did you know that the town of Nagua has its own slogan? “A Nagua tu entras si quieres, y sales si puedes” (translated, Enter Nagua if you want, leave if you can). Make sure to visit Nagua and you just may understand.

Watch a Barcelo rum television commercial taped in Nagua around 2006 and hear for yourself this slogan.

* Do you know what a Merentician is? It is a Merengue singer and Politician in one. Merengue artist Sergio Vargas is one.

* A man (boy) has to be 16 to get married and a girl (woman) needs to be 15 years of age. Even if the parents agree that the kids can be wed in matrimonial bliss most likely the government will not grant their wish. My thought: Many people here do not have birth certificates or birth records so how can they really prove their correct age? (they are trying to change this law now 3-17)

* Dominican Republic in position 74 of the 121 nations classified in the Global Peace Index in 2007 according to the British magazine The Economist, for reference The United States and Iran appear in positions 97 and 98. Norway and New Zealand are number 1 and 2. Sudan and Iraq come in the last place.
more information at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,2091513,00.html

* Parque Colon is considered one of the great public places by PPS – Project for Public Spaces. It was voted on because of its vegetation, the nearness to historical landmarks, its accessibility, and its usability. They describe it as an “urban living room” and a “magic space”. see the article(7/09)

Saturday afternoon in Parque Colon
Saturday afternoon in Parque Colon

* According to an independent research group in Britain that has the goal of building a new economy, “centered on people and the environment.” in their “Happy Planet Index,” that seeks countries with the most content people. Surveying 143 countries Dominican Republic ranked second in 2009. Each year our little island country makes the top of the list as do many of the smaller islands. Check out the map of the Happy Planet Index for 2011 and make sure you come and visit one of the happiest places in the world!