There are six families from Sauzal Bonito who have had their homes earthquake-resistant since April. The houses were built because the previous ones suffered severe damage and represented risks, given the recurrence of episodes that are recorded in this area, located 150 kilometers west of the capital of the province.
The town, founded on April 1, 1989, has a Development Commission chaired by Fernando Wircaleo. At the ceremony for the 35th anniversary of Sauzal, the residents who benefited received the keys to their new homes, from Governor Rolando Figueroa (see separate).
However, the commitment to deliver housing dates back to 2022 with the previous provincial administration of Omar Gutiérrez, when residents mobilized to protest the consequences their buildings suffered from earthquakes. A total of 50 were promised.
Adrián is one of the owners who has not yet moved because the electricity needs to be installed. They have already submitted the request to the Neuquén Provincial Energy Entity -EPEN- and he was happy with his future home.
“We are missing the tank, which they are going to change because it was punctured, but we have the home stove, the kitchen, with countertop, and the electric hot water tank. This is how they come,” he explained while showing the construction that consists of 56 square meters in which two bedrooms, kitchen, dining room and bathroom are distributed.
Mabel, his mother, has been living for a year in a house with identical characteristics, although on the other side of the main road and on the fence. It was the first of all, because he insisted and even warned the president of the Development Commission that he would move into his office if it was not built. After six months he managed to enter his home, which he shares with two grandchildren and a son-in-law.
These two families – like the rest – know what seismic movements and their consequences are, but they also know about floods. The Neuquén River, which lies to the north of their lots, rises with intensity and enters without asking permission as happened in 2006, when muddy water entered more than half a meter into their homes.
For this reason, Adrián’s new home is built 70 centimeters higher than the previous one. “Everyone has children and everything (space) is reduced. We have to get used to it. You put things together just because and well you have to fit into the small space,” said Mabel.
She has been in the area for 45 years and although she went to another place for 18 years, she returned because she feels good here. “You have to cut back and start a new life,” she explained.
The woman, who had six children and only Adrián decided not to leave the area, said that there were neighbors who rejected the homes because they are small and did not fit all the furniture.
The seismic movements are still recorded in his memory and in his body. You have already gone through the experience of feeling a strong tremor in your new house.
“We know that many more movements will come. We know that there are 200 wells that they are doing, fractures. “We have contacts with geologists who told us that it is due to fracking.”, he related. Despite this, he does not think about leaving Sauzal Bonito.
In the last intense earthquake, Mabel’s house moved and the material responded because it has no cracks. Things did move, like the television that was left crooked, as she recalled. “It’s hard to explain, but it’s like the body contracts and after two or three hours, you collapse, as if you’ve been beaten. They ask you what it is like and the truth is that it is inexplicable. You have to be there to see”he described.
Another of the beneficiaries is Jairo Barrera, who is also on the fence and the house he occupied with his family suffered damage when some rocks fell. He stated: “What more could you ask for if they gave us a new house.” He hopes to be settled with his family next week.
On the other hand, Noemí Painevil and Carlos Pérez remain in their house, including their business, where they arrived seven years ago from Cutral Co. They are both retired – he from the oil industry and she was a municipal employee – so they decided to settle on this farm. . In addition to the warehouse, Carlos raises pigs.
“We came for a change of life, for tranquility and perhaps to have growth, when we encountered these earthquakes,” Naomi said. The dining room of his house has a crack that reaches from the ceiling almost to the floor. The day they received Diario RÍO NEGRO they realized that a piece of plaster had come off in the bathroom.
“We modified this house (which belonged to my mother-in-law) and put all our income here. And we are still here because my code of life is work and I want to continue,” said the woman.
He assured that during all this time the only one who listened to them was the geographer Javier Grosso. “He was and will be the only person who internalized himself and has come, studied, and sought knowledge outside. She got so involved that today she doesn’t stop coming. I have permanent contact. I love it for that priority that she gave us, for fighting for us and for this to be known,” she stressed.
The neighbor has a lawsuit against the company that operates in the Fortín de Piedra, unconventional (gas) field. Her house was relieved when the first community complaints began, but later no authorities returned.
“Behind the scenes, the national and provincial governments know that this is a product of fracking, but it is not going to come to light because it is not convenient for them”Noemí reflected. They clarified that it is not their intention to harm anyone because they know that there are “thousands of people who depend on those salaries. “We cannot be against the work of others, but we deserve to live in peace.”
She still remembers the two most intense earthquakes, one of which found her alone in the dining room, accommodating her dogs who sleep inside. “I didn’t know whether to stand up or stay sitting,” she said. Today they have known people who prefer not to sleep at home like before for fear of movements.
The couple told about the request for seismic traffic lights that was made and they hope to have some response, both from the government and the company.
For her husband, there is no doubt that all the earthquake movement is due to hydrocarbon activity. “In the conventional we call it a fracture. And it is known that as soon as a team arrives at the location it causes an impact. “Don’t try to change my thoughts, I know and know about the activity,” stood out.
From their statements it is clear that they do not have many expectations that anything will change. “They turn a deaf ear. There is no one who says: I care about people’s peace of mind. “They cover it with some houses and nothing more”concluded Naomi.
The couple did not attend the ceremony to hand over the keys to the homes, where Governor Figueroa and members of the cabinet were present. They preferred not to participate and consider that the population is demobilized.
Corfone homes with wood panels
The Corfone system was chosen for the construction of these six houses. They are earthquake-resistant and more than 133 million pesos were invested. The rest remain because 50 were committed, in total.
To execute them, an agreement was made between the Province, the Tecpetrol company (which operates the Fortín de Piedra field), the Neuquina Trust Fund and the Neuquina Forestry Corporation, as reported. For this reason, the Corfone sign is visible in front of the homes.
133,965,284 pesos were disbursed, carried in two equal parts by Tecpetrol and the Neuquina Trust. The funds were administered by the Provincial Execution Unit, which depends on the Ministry of Culture, Inclusion and Community Management of the Ministry of Human Development, Local Governments and Women.
The type of construction is with wooden panels and it occupies an area of 54 square meters in which the two bedrooms, the kitchen-dining room and the bathroom are distributed. The economical stove, the kitchen, the electric hot water tank, the countertop with undercounter were included. The windows have double glass which allows greater insulation against wind and cold.
At the key handover ceremony that took place on April 7, Governor Rolando Figueroa was accompanied by Fernando Wircaleo, president of the Development Commission, plus the Minister of Human Development, Local Governments and Women, Julieta Corroza; the Minister of Labor and Labor Development, Lucas Castelli and the president of Corfone, Jorge Lara.
The last record of an earthquake
One of the measures adopted by the provincial government in the face of the recurrence of the telluric movements was to send a weekly report, so that the population knows about the events. In this case, it is the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, which is in charge of publishing it. every seven days.
The last one surveyed the week between April 15 and 21, detailing that “no earthquakes were reported on the National Institute of Seismic Prevention website.”
However, yesterday InPres reported that At 2:32 p.m. there was a movement of 2.8 magnitude and at a depth of 10 kilometers, with the epicenter 88 kilometers northwest of Neuquén and 57 kilometers northeast of Cutral Co.
The province of Neuquén is located in two zones called: Zone 1 (East) and Zone 2 (West) on the Seismic Zoning map of the Argentine Republic. Both are considered reduced to moderate danger.
These types of reports began to be made in response to the earthquakes that Sauzal Bonito registered. The provincial government applies this work plan to monitor activity together with other organizations such as the National University of Comahue; INTA, the Argentine Mining Geological Service, and InPres itself.
