A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck the Dominican
Republic on Monday, 22 September. The quake was located 10 miles south
Puerto Plata (pop. 89,000) and 95 miles north northwest of the capital
Santo Domingo.
The earthquake forced the temporary
evacuation of the Hospital Cabral y Báez, a 525-bed facility near Puerta
Plata, where patients were treated outdoors and in areas that were structurally
unaffected.
A structural assessment of the facility, conducted by the National Emergency Commission, the Emergency Operations Center, the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo, the Dominican College of Engineers and Architects and the Secretary of Public Works found the facility to be structurally safe and patients were quickly relocated to the appropriate area of the hospital.
Other nearby health facilities, including the Children's Hopital and clinics and health centers, continue normal operations. In Puerto Plata, the Ricardo Limardo Hospital was unaffected, although several buildings collapsed, including the Reserve Bank and two private buidlings.
Only five people with injuries were reported as a result of the earthquake.