Caribbean drills for tsunami warning

(CNS): Following the devastating tsunami that hit Japan last week in the wake of a massive earthquake, people across the Caribbean, including the Cayman Islands, will be taking part in a tsunami drill next Wednesday (23 March). According to Hazard Management Cayman Islands (HMCI), the threat of a tsunami to the Cayman Islands is low. Nevertheless, purpose of this tsunami response exercise is to evaluate local tsunami response plans, increase tsunami preparedness, and improve coordination throughout the region.

“The vulnerability analysis that was conducted for Grand Cayman indicates that the threat of a damaging tsunami is low, but this exercise provides us with a useful opportunity to test the current procedures of the Tsunami Warning System and to look at our own communications protocol in the event that a tsunami wave is threatening the Cayman Islands. It is also a good opportunity for us to identify various operational strengths and weaknesses that would guide us in the development of our tsunami response plans” said McCleary Frederick, Director of HMCI.

The exercise, titled CARIBE WAVE 11/LANTEX 11, will simulate a widespread Tsunami Warning and Watch situation throughout the Caribbean which requires implementation of local tsunami response plans. It is the first such international exercise in the Caribbean region. The exercise will not include public notification.

The exercise will simulate a major earthquake and tsunami generated 25 miles southeast of Fajardo, Puerto Rico and 55 miles southeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico at 9:00am Atlantic Standard Time on 23 March 2011. Exercise participants will be provided with a handbook which describes the scenario and contains tsunami messages from the West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Center (WCATWC) and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC). The WCATWC is currently responsible for providing tsunami information to the Atlantic coasts of US and Canada, the Gulf of Mexico coast, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands while the PTWC is the interim Regional Tsunami Watch Provider for the other countries in the Caribbean Sea and Adjacent Regions.

A number of local agencies will be participating in the exercise including 911, the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service, Cayman Islands National Weather Service and Government Information Services.

If any real tsunami threat occurs during the time period of the exercise, the exercise will be terminated. The exercise is sponsored by the UNESCO/IOC Intergovernmental Coordination Group for Tsunami and Other Coastal Hazards Warning System for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions (ICG/CARIBE-EWS), the Caribbean Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), the Centro de Coordinación para la Prevención de los Desastres Naturales en América Central (CEPREDENAC), the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and by the US National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program (NTHMP – a partnership of 29 states and territories and three federal agencies). For more information on the U.S. tsunami warning system, see www.tsunami.gov. For more information on the NTHMP, see nthmp.tsunami.gov. For more information on the ICG/CARIBE-EWS, see http://www.ioc-tsunami.org.