The Department of Disaster Management and Emergencies (DDME) will observe Earthquake and Tsunami Awareness Week from January 11th -18th, 2015 themed around having the residents of TCI prepared for the next earthquake through a process of learning, planning and preparing.
The main objective of the week is to strengthen the earthquake and tsunami preparedness and response capacity of the disaster management system in the TCI by building resilience to earthquake impacts at the community level. The overall goal is to have the TCI more resilient to earthquake impacts by implementing the necessary safeguards at the personal, community and national levels to save lives and protect property.
Several activities have been planned to mark the week, which is primarily aimed at increasing the awareness of the general public to the importance of preparing for an earthquake and tsunami event. The events began with a Church Service at the Holy Cross Catholic Church in Grand Turk on Sunday. The special service was conducted in English and Haitian Creole, and was dedicated to remembering the victims of the devastating earthquake which struck Haiti on January 12th 2010.
The Magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck at 14:53 (2:53 p.m.) on Tuesday January 12, causing an estimated 250,000 residential buildings and 30,000 commercial buildings to either totally collapse or sustain substantial damage. Following the devastating earthquake at least 52 aftershocks, measuring 4.5 in magnitude, shook the country. The number of deaths caused by the earthquake, vary from an estimated 220,000 lives at the lower end of the scale to 316,000 at the upper end of the scale. The Preliminary Damage and Needs Assessment (PDNA) published by the Haitian Government in March 2010, estimated the cost of the damage at US$7.9 billion. The reconstruction cost was originally estimated at US11.5 billion.
As Haiti and the rest of the world commemorate the fifth anniversary of that fateful day in Haiti’s history, it is fitting the TCI pause to reflect, share expertise and pledge to do whatever needs to be done to ensure that all persons in TCI are as prepared and ready if this was to ever happen in the TCI. The question is can this happen in the TCI.
To answer that question, it is important to put the Caribbean seismicity into perspective. The Caribbean is a very active seismic region, with three live volcanoes, and where over a thousand earthquakes happen every year, though most of them are too small to feel. The area between the Dominican Republic and the Virgin Islands average more than a dozen measurable earthquakes every week.
According to CCRIF’s Country Risk Profile for the TCI, the islands risk profile indicate that the TCI islands are vulnerable to earthquake and tsunami risks, but at a low to moderate level. The report also indicates that the TCI is vulnerable to tsunami events generated along the Northern Caribbean Plate, presenting an additional hazard to a multi-island country like TCI. The USGS Global Seismic Hazard Assessment Programme (GSHAP) concurs with CCRIF’s assessment in its report where it states that there is a low to moderate level of susceptibility in the Turks and Caicos Islands to seismic activity, based on a 2013 seismic analysis, undertaken as part of the process of developing the TCI Building Code under the Hurricane Ike Recovery and Rehabilitation Project.
In terms of tsunami events, the northern Caribbean has seen some 40 confirmed tsunami events over the last five hundred years. From 1842 -1998, an estimated 3,510 persons have lost their lives from tsunami events (Caribbean Tsunami: A 500 Year History from 1498-1998 by Karen Fay O’Loughlin and James F. Lander).
Earthquakes cannot be predicted with any level of accuracy and we can’t stop them from happening. However, we can be prepared to respond to an earthquake event if and when it happens. This theme of preparedness will be the ethos of the activities planned to mark this year’s second annual Earthquake and Tsunami Awareness Week by DDME. The department is seeking to raise awareness of what can be done to ensure that you survive the next earthquake. As a little preparation can possibly save your life and that of your family, Make sure you have a family plan to deal with any emergency.
DDME is also encouraging the residents to visit its Facebook Page to obtain tips on earthquake and tsunami preparedness and ways in which you can make yourself, your family and your community more resilient to the impacts of earthquakes and tsunamis.
