Regional Delegation - Santo Domingo

August 8, 2001

Disaster Response Simulation in the Dominican Republic

by: Cristina Estrada
Information Delgate
Santo Domingo

In an effort to prepare for disaster before it strikes, volunteers and evaluators from the Dominican Red Cross took part in a cyclone and hurricane training exercise organised by the Civil Defense and the Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance for Latin America and the Caribbean (OFDA/LAC), on 31 July 2001. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies was the only international organisation present with three evaluators from the Santo Domingo Regional Delegation participating.

The practical exercise took place in two of the poorest neighbourhoods of the capital, Santo Domingo, La Barquita y La Zurza, both high risk areas prone to floods. The aim was to put into practice some of the lessons learned during a similar exercise last year. The focus was on how all the organisations who take part in frontline work during emergencies can co-ordinate response when a natural disaster hits the country. There is a clear need. The Dominican Republic is prone to hurricanes and, as the peak of hurricane season approaches, meteorological experts have predicted that the intensity and frequency of such storms over the next ten years will increase. In September 1998, Hurricane Georges caused some of the worst devastation in the history of the country, killing 500 people and affecting over six thousands of others.