The National Office of Disaster Services (NODS) is finalizing plans to stage
the annual Caribe Wave Tsunami exercise slated for March 21.
The activity is an initiative of an inter-governmental coordination group for
tsunamis and other coastal hazards of the United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). It targets countries throughout the
Caribbean to help them prepare for tsunamis which are regarded as rare hazards
usually causing severe devastation.
Schools, workplaces and residents in general are encouraged to use the opportunity
to boost their knowledge of tsunamis, their impacts and how to prepare for such
hazards. Groups participating in the drill are asked to register with NODS before
March 7 by calling 462-4206 or email nods.anu@ab.gov.ag.
Tsunamis have impacted Antigua and Barbuda and other regional territories in the
past.
Records show that on April 6, 1690 an earthquake near Antigua and Nevis
believed to have been triggered by landslides into the sea generated tsunami waves
that were observed in Antigua, Nevis and St. Thomas.
Also, on November 1, 1755, the Great Lisbon earthquake in Portugal, which had a
magnitude of between 8.5 and 9.0, caused tsunamis throughout the Caribbean with
wave heights of 3.5 feet reported in Antigua.
In more recent times, the 8.1 magnitude earthquake in Haiti in 2010 generated a
tsunami that caused 75 deaths. Over the past ten years or so, several schools and
workplaces have participated in the annual Caribe Wave exercise which UNESCO
started in 2011.
