What do you do as an expat when Government officials or appointees in your adopted homeland do something to cause loss of life? You can fume, you can ignore, you can rant or……………you can write about it. Here is the story; but first some background.
The Dominican Republic is situated in the hurricane belt and residents know the risks of being hit by a natural disaster. In the hurricane season of 2007 it was not hurricane force winds which caused problems but unrelenting rain. Even prior to the start of the hurricane season in June, Puerto Plata on the north coast was flooded in some of its barrios last March as I wrote about at the time:
Offshore Living News Offshorewave » Floods In Puerto Plata - Torrential Rains In The Dominican Republic - by Ginnie Bedggood And Photographs by Bob Hildreth
And just when the end of the season was in view Tropical Storm Noel arrived on the 28th of October and didn’t go away. The result of this slow moving storm was that copious amounts of rain were dropped affecting some 80% of the DR according to the UN. This natural disaster in terms of fatalities, homes destroyed and agriculture and farming washed out featured in news outlets from Pravda to the Halifax Daily News, which carried harrowing tales of parents having to choose which of their children to save because they did not have enough arms to carry all of them. Sagrario Diaz, a 42-year-old farmer, had the trauma not only of losing his home and all possessions but of being haunted by the eternal guilt of hearing his son’s last words ‘Papi don’t let me drown’ as the river took him out of his father’s grasp. This compilation video conveys to the reader more of the immediate impact of Noel but it does not include pictures of the death and drowning.
YouTube - Tormenta Tropical Noel / Tropical Storm Noel
The hurricane season ended as it always does at the end of November but nature had not finished with the DR. On December 12th. a faster moving tropical depression became Tropical Storm Olga and the already saturated soil received yet more rain. This time the DR’s meteorological service was on the ball and began issuing early warnings. There had been suggestions that this had not been the case where Noel was concerned – possibly unfairly since very few of the major forecasting services had predicted that the storm would move as slowly as it did, although an investigation by Dominicanoshoy.com revealed that the Miami forecasting centre felt the DR’s meteorological services had not heeded their warnings. But with TS Olga weather warnings were issued promptly in the DR. So a natural disaster was averted?
Not quite. A disaster certainly occurred for many residents of the DR’s second largest town, Santiago. But it was not at the hands of Mother Nature. It was at the hands of the men or women who made the decision to open the Tavera Dam at full bore in the middle of the night and send 1.6 million gallons per second into the Yaque river without a prior full scale evacuation of those living in the areas which would be flooded. Not only were the residents not evacuated but many claim they received no warning whatsoever. Those who did said they were told about 15 minutes before the torrent of water rushed through destroying everything in its path according to an Associated Press report in The Canadian Press. This video taken at 5.30 am at the Tavera Dam shows the volume of water being pumped into the river:
YouTube - La presa Taveras suelta
And this one shows the speed of the Yaque River at Santiago after and during the torrential dumping of dam water:
YouTube - tormenta olga en santiago de los caballeros
The International Herald Tribune carried an Associated Press report: ‘As heavy rains overwhelmed the Tavera Dam near Santiago, the country’s second-largest city, officials decided to release water to prevent the dam from collapsing, said Octavio Rodriguez, a civil defense official on the committee that decided to flood the river. By midnight Tuesday (0400 GMT Wednesday), all of the dam’s doors were open and 1.6 million gallons (6.1 million liters) were pouring through every second. “We knew the damage we were going to cause below. We did not want to, but we had to,” Rodriguez told The Associated Press. In light of the potential catastrophe of a dam collapse, he called the resulting death toll “acceptable.” 
(Photo opposite: River Yaque in Santiago before the dam was opened) That resulting death toll both climbed steadily and was under-reported in official sources. In the DR it is mainly the poor who construct their humble abodes by river banks. Heavy rain can and does put them at risk of flooding yet they continue to inhabit the same locations. This is more indicative of the lack of organised Governmental housing programmes than sheer stupidity by residents although there have been occasions when that, too, has happened. In the case of the emptying of the dam the first homes to go were those down by the river where many Haitian construction workers (some of whom were illegals) lived in multi-occupied lodging houses. But the death, damage and destruction went far beyond this: swathes of middle class neighbourhoods with block built houses and businesses which had been in existence fifty years were under water. And as the dam surge followed the path of the river to the sea vast areas of agricultural and farming land were swamped, killing livestock and ruining crops.
(Photo opposite: River Yaque in Santiago after the dam was opened) So what happened? We may never know, of course. Sure, a Commission of Enquiry has been set up by the Government and it is due to report in March 2008. But………the Commission is largely comprised of Governmental functionaries which could lead sentient observers to presuppose that the neutrality of the Commission’s findings might be somewhat suspect. March 2008 is just two months before the next Presidential election and as the current incumbent is running again it could be deemed unlikely that chances of success would be allowed to be affected by an inconvenient truth, to borrow someone else’s film title. Indeed one newspaper contributor went as far as to suggest that with approval ratings already flagging, the existing incumbent needed a tragedy such as this so that he could appear in the days following to be the saviour of the poor by promising all sorts of help and thus boost his approval ratings.
In the days after the tragedy not surprisingly political mileage was made out of this situation by opposition candidates. Leaving that aside, what also emerged was scientific knowledge about how the dam should have been managed. The operations manual clearly states a procedure for slow release of water when a storm is in the offing well ahead of its actual arrival; it also states a non-exceedable limit for dam water depth during the hurricane period of June to November. Despite protestations to the contrary from the Director of the Instituto Nacional de Recursos Hidráulicos (INDRHI) it is becoming increasingly clear that this was not done. Whilst Olga arrived outside of the hurricane period (just) there was certainly no doubt that it was on its way. The general consensus amongst engineers is that a slow release should have been started two days before. INDRHI’s Director somewhat let the cat out of the bag by saying the slow release had started 24 hours earlier……….and then changed this to 48 hours presumably after he had read the opinions of engineers in the newspapers!
An observer is therefore left wondering whether there was any slow release at all. To most it appears that at midnight on the Tuesday it was noted that water levels had gone way above the ‘do not exceed’ mark, a panic reaction occurred and all six flood gates were opened. And approximately 100 people were killed. The cynical might thus conclude that keeping the dam chock full was more in the service of producing hydroelectricity which can be sold than keeping nonmarketable humans alive. In fact the President of the Environmental Committee in the Chamber of Deputies, Mario José Fernández Saviñón, said exactly that after Christmas.
And whilst ‘it would have been a lot worse had the dam collapsed completely’ sounds a convincing argument it is not one which holds much water (forgive me!) with those familiar with how the Tavera Dam operates. The fusible dyke system was designed to blow ahead of a complete collapse thus enabling a ‘controlled’ water release. It would appear that statements that the dam was about to collapse were exaggerated. So, too, it would appear were job titles of anyone working in ‘dam maintenance’ for the last 30 years. The President has admitted that the Tavera Dam has never been dredged; quite possibly none of the other dams have either. In fact those residents down river from any dam in the DR would not be unreasonable in experiencing a certain level of anxiety right now!
(Photo opposite: Santiago after the dam release) The under-reporting of fatalities may have been more to do with the lack of disaster preparedness mechanisms than any implied racism towards the Haitian community. It became obvious after the tragedy that Emergency Services personnel do not keep lists of missing people. Thus relatives reported people as missing but these only featured in fatality lists when corpses were located. The nature of death by drowning particularly in mudslides probably means that many of the missing have perished but will not become a statistic unless their bodies are uncovered. The official fatality statistics ‘stopped’ at 33 – and then conveniently Christmas came along and Emergency Services started a new fatality list for deaths caused over the Christmas and New Year period (mainly traffic accidents or alcohol-related deaths).
Any notion that the Government could engineer a boost to flagging approval ratings by being perceived as redeeming the situation through their practical assistance has misfired somewhat in the light of accusations that the only victims receiving assistance from the Government are those who are PLD party (the President’s party) faithful or activists. Of course the voluntary organisations both national and international have been assisting based on need not party affiliation. And the Dominican diaspora in the US and Europe responded magnificently to the needs of victims of both TS Noel and the dam release but questions still remain as to whether all the donated funds and material was actually received by those in need.
There are indications that something positive is beginning to emerge, however. In January 2008 the Ministry of the Environment issued a resolution prohibiting the construction of houses along the banks of the Yaque River, thereby taking control of the areas that were affected by the Tavera Dam floodwaters released after Tropical Storm Olga. At the same time, the minister, Omar Ramirez, asked the National Housing Institute, (INVI) to suspend the reconstruction of houses damaged by the floods until a full study is carried out to identify the best places to rebuild. There has also been a signed agreement – the Environmental Service Programme - between the Ministry of the Environment, the Dominican Corporation of State-run Electricity Enterprises (CDEEE) and the Santiago Water Works (CORAASAN) that small communities in the river watershed areas will receive payments for preserving natural environmental resources. The Yaque River watershed covers about 770 square kilometres and receives up to two metres of rainfall (78 inches) per year.
It is important to monitor these developments as signed agreements in the Dominican Republic do not have an exactly stellar history. And when Ministers of the Environment attempt to carry out Environmental Law and protect the country’s natural assets from being sold to the highest bidder, they are frequently replaced by ‘yes’ men. The current Minister was a replacement for the previous Minister who stood up to his own Government. Hopefully my follow up article in six months or a year’s time will be able to report whether or not all of these agreements and resolutions were for real or spin.
Perhaps most hope lays in the path which some of the bereaved families, and owners of destroyed homes and businesses have decided to take: a judicial plaint under Article 319 of the Penal Code for involuntary homicide. They have also threatened to sue the Commission of Enquiry if it seeks to whitewash culpability for these events! The municipality of Santiago whose Mayor is of a different political party than the Government is also considering litigation against the Government. Perhaps most promising is that a group of Santiago engineers has decided to launch their own ‘unofficial’ investigation into what actually happened both before and during December 12th. which they will make available to the municipality upon completion. Their completion promises to be somewhat more expeditious than the Government’s three month window. This group, who are offering their services in an unpaid capacity so as to ensure manifest independence, are aiming to have completed their studies in three weeks! Such action has also inspired others – farmers in Las Barias lost their crops and livestock due to alleged mismanagement of the Valdesia Dam after TS Noel went through and they, too, are seeking compensation from the Government.
The independent investigation is designed to answer the questions of a citizenry who have little faith in Government Commissions of Enquiry. Whilst history has contributed to their cynicism the conduct of the official Government Commission has hardly assisted. Several members of said Commission did not receive invitations to the first meeting, namely the University representatives and those from the professional association for engineers and architects (CODIA). The Chair of the Commission is the Secretary of the Armed Forces and it is presumed that invitations were sent from his office yet when CODIA tried to find out if they had been invited they were unable to get a straight answer! So those present at the first meeting were Government functionaries and the two bodies which could be assumed to be more neutral, namely the academic and professional representations, were seemingly not invited. It would appear that the Armed Forces Department might have the odd ‘chain of command’ issues which we fervently hope they are able to resolve should the DR ever decide to declare war!
Citizen investigation and legal action is the democratic way of handling events. It will certainly be a lot less trouble for the Government than an incipient revolution! And in an election year it perhaps has more chance of success than at any other time. If such action sees the beginning of the end of the system of political patronage in the DR and the provision of a professional civil service staffed by technically qualified personnel in their respective fields then perhaps the deceased will not have died in vain? If such action encourages accountability by those who should be held accountable then those deaths will have a lasting memorial.
Of course, not everyone in the area is involved in these activities. One month after the tragedy some are still cleaning mud from what is left of their homes…………………..
(Photo opposite: Cleaning the mud from homes) Back to where we started - what should expats. do when events such as this occur? When it is a natural disaster the answer is easy: it goes without saying that many contributed financially to ease the suffering of those who had lost everything. Some became practically involved in distributing assistance. But, in the event of a man-made disaster, is this enough? Should we not be more actively involved in the hue and cry about man-made suffering? Expat reactions have varied from ‘well, it’s a developing country, what do you expect?’ to concerns about feeling disloyal to a country which has openly welcomed the gringo to feelings of impotence by expats. who, if they are not citizens, have no franchise in the DR. But there are things we can do. Informing potential expats, where not to buy land or build is but one: there are in excess of 20 dams in the DR and the Tavera tragedy has led to misgivings about maintenance and management of other dams; for a list see:
Instituto Nacional de Recursos Hidráulicos -INDRHI-
And if you see glossy adverts in the media for villas in the Dominican Republic just take a look at a map to see which dams or rivers they are near……………
Displaying solidarity with the indigenous population can take many forms: local newspaper articles for those fluent in the language, raising the issue in expat magazines, informing potential investors in this country as to why they might want to think twice. The Government would surely notice if foreign investment capital started to dry up!
As an expat it is never enough to moan and then shrug our shoulders and pass on to the next little cultural adjustment challenge. We need to put our money where our mouth is. Even more importantly we need to put our voice where our mouth is. I am hopeful that in a matter of months I will be able to do a follow-up story which has a satisfactory outcome for the victims. And if that has to be done from a different location………….well, so be it!!
Ginnie Bedggood’s story of relocating to the Dominican Republic in 1992 Quisqueya: Mad Dogs and English Couple is published as an ebook on Offshore Wave. To buy the ebook click here:
Quisqueya: Mad dogs and English couple by Ginnie Bedggood
Sources cited in the article and additional reading:
Halifax, The Daily News: News | Death toll from Noel rises
Tropical Storm Noel kills 81 in the Dominican Republic and Haiti - Pravda.Ru
DominicanosHoy.com, Tu periódico Digital
Flooding from Tropical Storm Olga kills at least 14 in Caribbean - International Herald Tribune
Halcrow projects - Dams Inspection in Dominican Republic
http://www.dams.org/docs/report/wcdreport.pdf
Dams and Development: An Overview
For more information on Ginnie Bedggood visit her website at www.ginniebedggood.com
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