The earthquake of Haiti, in Santiago of Cuba, is a warned tragedy.

By: Evelyn Lahera Branches
Independent journalist
evelynramosl@yahoo.com

SANTIAGO OF CUBA, 15 of January, 2010 - (www.miamiprogressive.com). - The earthquake of Haiti, in Santiago of Cuba, is a warned tragedy. A sismic zone by nature, lengths periods without far-reaching earthquakes and an inclined residential infrastructure to a great disaster. The houses constructed by own means do not satisfy the minimum requirements of a Code of construction and according to number official, 420 buildings between which they are located in the District Jose Martí and other places of the city, are in terrible state.  That is, 43% of the houses are considered enters bad and regular states. Without counting the location of many constructions, that would be the first victims of an earthquake of significant magnitude. The city of Santiago of Cuba has a population approximated of more than 500 thousand inhabitants.

The constructive phenomenon of the houses in Santiago of Cuba is necessary to see it in the context of its own development. The expeditious prohibition of the authorities of which the lands bordering to the city and the social pressure were not constructed to houses in to construct them, forced the citizens to use the most improper lands, where after long battles of resistance and disobedience, managed to settle down those establishments, exceeding the continuous evacuations and demolition of its unexpected houses.

Most excellent they settled down in White Horse, one of the most prominent elevations of the city of Santiago of Cuba, also it is known as Heights Chicharrones and distributions VAN-VAN and We will win, these last ones in reference to the intention of force to take root there. The sale property officer of construction did not force these inhabitants to make its houses with removed materials of remainder or of state works, which often prevented them to use the materials adapted under engineering specifications or in the required proportions, as it is the case of the cement.

The santiaguera infrastructure is vulnerable for many reasons, the hospital known like Clinical-Surgical, located in the highway of the Hut, had architectonic problems from its construction, an unit even sank during the constructive phase. The buildings of scholarships, in the Stops of Quintero, the motel Farm Club and the hotels, Balcony of the Caribbean and San Pedro of the Sea, by their position, would not resist a telluric movement of great intensity, according to the scale of Richter.

To all this it is necessary to add the population concentration to him, only in the 384 buildings of the urban center Jose Martí and that is reported in evil been, today they count with more than 100 000 inhabitants. The majority of these buildings was constructed in the decade of the 60, their well-known technology like Great Soviet Panel, is prefabricated and is in a practically ruinous state, with great filtrations that have aggravated their structures.

In the historical helmet of the city he is similar the concentration and the deterioration of the houses. The past 11 of January a wall in the street collapsed the Maceos between Gallo and Jobito, that the life of Nuria received Side Perez and Jose Alain Bustamante Side, of 16 years, mother and son respectively.

Another factor of risk that is due to consider is the amount of popular tunnels which they were constructed in the decade of the 90, many of them in places that jeopardize the surrounding constructions. The one that is in Escario and Pizarro, near the Mars Place directly affect the Clinic of Los Angeles, whose building still conserves cracks of previous tremors and other that could bring serious consequences is the one that were constructed in Captain Cuevas, between 18 and 20, in the Dessy distribution, to be below an elevation intensely populated.

Nevertheless, with all these antecedents, never the governmental authorities have designed a emergencia plan before this possible catastrophe. Not even a plan of measures has been dictated, so that the population can act of preventive form before indications of tremors. A test has been made never to prepare to the population for earthquakes, as if it has been made in several occasions to face a supposed North American invasion, that never has had a real possibility to be realized.

Before this serious situation, the representatives of the Municipality of Opposition are conforming a plan of measures, to distribute between the population. Many of them taken from the existing ones in other countries of high seismic risk and local professionals, who are collaborating with this initiative, due to the importance of the same. We hope, that he takes himself brings back to consciousness of this sad possibility and is avoided, investing today, much less than he would cost to face a disaster of such magnitude.