Disaster Management and Tsunamis

An earthquake unlike most other natural disasters gives no warning. As a result the potential for death; destruction and displacement are so much higher even with the best disaster management systems in place. The Caribbean based on its geographical position is very much prone to seismic conditions, and regrettably the region has had its fair share of same. Each January, Jamaica commemorates Earthquake Awareness Month; in fact the week of January 7-13 is designated as Earthquake Awareness Week. The theme this year is “Preparing for the quake helps reduce damage after a shake”. On Tuesday, January 9, 2018 a powerful 7.6 earthquake occurred off the Honduran coast. The U.S. Tsunami Warning System issued tsunami warning treats to the coast of Cuba, Mexico, Honduras, Belize, Panama, Costa Rica and Jamaica and tsunami advisories for Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Understandably, there was some amount of panic and concern among the population the following morning since many persons were asleep while all this seismic activity was going on.  It was a mere eight years ago that Haiti was devastated by a powerful 7.0 magnitude earthquake which killed an estimated 200,000 individuals. In 1907, an earthquake rocked Jamaica resulting in the deaths of 1000 inhabitants. Thankfully since then Jamaica has been spared any significant earthquake, however, we should not take things for granted and should be now realize that disaster management and preparation is a coordinated and  ongoing process.. The word tsunami for many became more widely used and appreciated after the catastrophic 8.6 magnitude Indian Ocean earthquake in 2004 which occurred off the coast of Indonesia in which over 280, 000 people in fourteen (14) countries were killed.  A tsunami is a very large, high wave in the ocean which is usually caused by an earthquake under the sea and to some extent there is still much misconception about the occurrence of this.  
Responsibility of the State
All activities surrounding earthquake awareness month and week are synchronized by The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM). However, the tsunami alerts which were triggered by the earthquake of January 9 are a clear indication that Jamaica is not where she should be in the event that a powerful earthquake was to strike the island.  It is noteworthy that the earthquake struck in the middle of the Caribbean Sea at a depth of 10 kilometres. The epi-center of the earthquake was 202 miles north-northeast Barra Patuca, Honduras and about 190 miles southwest of West Bay in the Cayman Islands.  At the time of the earthquake and subsequent tsunami alerts many Jamaicans were already in their beds and were unaware of what was taking place. Those of us who were awake at that time of night must thank the many social media platforms; especially Twitter for keeping us abreast of what was taking place. It is evident that as a country we urgently need a National Disaster Alert System to keep the citizenry informed and updated on any pending natural disasters. It is also clear that information must be readily dispatched and dissemination in a speedy manner in order for citizen to move to higher ground if they must. While the pilot tsunami multipurpose hazard siren installed in the Old Harbour Bay community is commendable, this is not enough. Jamaica is surrounding by water and has a plethora of coastal towns all of which are in need of such a system. The State must become more proactive in ensuring that common sense building practices are observed. We should discourage the explosion of unplanned settlements which have sprung up all across the country and can be argued encouraged for political purposes. While we are grateful that no injury was recorded from the earthquake and that the tsunami alerts were cancelled within 30 minutes of their activation we ought to be mindful that this should be viewed as a dress rehearsal to remind us that we should not become complacent and drop the ball regarding disaster management and preparation.  In preparing for an earthquake we need to engage the citizenry more in public education and town hall meetings, as well as utilizing social media in a more effective manner. It was only a tsunami scare this time, who knows what will happen the next time, we might not be so lucky.   
Wayne Campbell is an educator and social commentator with an interest in development policies as they affect culture and or gender issues.
waykam@yahoo.com
@WayneCamo
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