Santo Domingo.- Four million Dominicans live in precarious conditions, and this, together with the lack of meteorological information and failure to activate emergency plans, was blamed for the high death rate and extensive devastation caused by Tropical Storm Noel.

A report from Juan Montalvo Social Studies Center criticized president Leonel Fernández’s Thursday night speech, saying that the government had no concrete plans for tackling the disastrous consequences of the storm.

Jenny Torres and Alexandra Lastra, researchers from Centro Bonó, and Amparo Chantada, representing the Alternative Social Forum, suggested a meeting to analyze the effects of Noel, including government spending allocations for 2008 that would reflect the government’s intention to tackle the vulnerable conditions experienced by so many families.

This would involve urgent repairs to public infrastructure and affected houses, as well as increasing social investment in health, social security, education and housing.

“A high percentage of people live in undignified conditions, a little more than 17% at national level have cement block houses”, said Torres.