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FOLLOWING the devastating tsunami that struck Japan, 33 countries are preparing to participate in the first full-scale simulated tsunami alert exercise in the Caribbean on Wednesday.
The goal is to test the Tsunami and other Coastal Hazards Warning System for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions, which was established in 2005 in collaboration between regional countries and the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC).
“The earthquake and tsunami that have devastated Japan have shown how essential alert systems are,” said UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova in a statement today. “In this context the development of a coordinated system in the Caribbean is more relevant than ever, enabling coastal countries to prepare in the event of such a disaster and to save human lives.”
According to the scenario developed by the organisers of exercise ‘Caribe Wave 11′, Caribbean countries will receive an alert concerning a fictitious earthquake of 7.6 magnitude off the coast of the American Virgin Islands. Bulletins will be issued by the West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Centre (United States) for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, and by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre (PTWC) in Ewa Beach (Hawaii, US) for the rest of the area.
The exercise aims to test the effectiveness of alert, monitoring and warning systems among all the emergency management organisations throughout the region.
Over the last 500 years, 75 tsunamis have occurred in the Caribbean, said UNESCO. Tsunamis – caused by earthquakes or landslides, or of volcanic origin – have killed more that 3,500 people in the region since the mid-19th century. Population growth and tourism in coastal areas has further heightened the vulnerability of the Caribbean.
Participating countries include: Aruba, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, France (Martinique, Guadeloupe, St Martin, Guyane), Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Netherlands (Bonaire, Saba, Sint Eustatius, Curacao and Sint Marteen), Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, United Kingdom (Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Montserrat, Turks and Caicos) and the United States.

Source: Gyana News Paper