HMCI testing systems in UNESCO tsunami drill
(CNS): Hazard Management Cayman Islands (HMCI) is taking part in CARIBE WAVE 24 today as part of the annual tsunami exercise of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). The exercise, which aims to test tsunami preparedness in the region, creates two tsunami scenarios, one generated by a magnitude 8.7 earthquake in the Puerto Rico Trench and the other caused by a magnitude 8.47 earthquake located on the Northern Panama Deformed Belt.
HMCI is using the drill to test communication and dissemination of tsunami messages and information from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center to the Cayman Islands National Tsunami Contacts and National Tsunami Focal Points. It will also test satellite phone technology to contact the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency, HMCI said in a release.
“Additionally, the recent acquisition of the NOAA Tsunami Inundation Model (with the support of the Caribbean Tsunami Information Center, USAID, NOAA, and others) represents a pivotal moment for local risk assessment capacity for the tsunami threat, and it will lead to significant changes in Cayman’s preparedness strategies,” HMCI said.
HMCI Director Dani Coleman said, “We do not know when a tsunami will hit Cayman, but we do know that there will be little notice and this puts a big responsibility on HMCI to plan, develop standard operating procedures and practice through exercises like Caribe Wave. This also puts responsibility on every member of the public to know how to respond and to download the National Emergency Notification App.”
HMCI said that participating in exercises is essential for readiness and assists in identifying gaps and issues. It is expected that the lessons identified during the 2024 Caribe Wave Exercise will be integrated into the plans and procedures and improve the Cayman Islands’ ability to respond to and recover from tsunamis if they occur.
The exercise will be coordinated with the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Caribbean regional emergency management stakeholders: the Coordination Centre for the Prevention of Natural Disasters in Central America (CEPREDENAC), the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), and the French Inter-Ministerial for the Antilles Estate Major Zone (EMIZA), as well as the Central America Tsunami Advisory Center (CATAC) of Nicaragua.
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Category: Science & Nature
I suppose the odds are that we may have a tsunami by the end of this century at the earliest,so will Govt supply all of us with an inflatable lifejacket like they do on airplanes where the odds of a survivable landing at sea are about the same?.
In the highly unlikely event of a tsunami, even a warning system that works would be of no use. Might as well just stick your head between your legs and kiss your ass goodbye.
There are lots of Tsunamis that register under 3 feet above normal wave height at that tide level. They happen all the time, and there is no notice. On the apocalyptic events near us, that might be moving at the speed of a jet liner, it’s true that some might not be able to do anything in time, but HCMI might warn other islands that could have precious seconds to improve their survival chances, and minimise loss of life.
Was the notification on AtHoc? I did not receive one. The last notification I had was dated Feb 6, 2024 advising of school closure due to weather conditions.
I hope none of the may sayers are fareners living here for a while who should Trever how they ran away in the aftermath of Hurricane Ivan.? Hope you
Remember. Hipócritas
I didn’t get any alert on the app. Doesn’t seem to have worked.
The last tsunami drill, I received the message 10 minutes after it was due to hit.
Okay, but genuinely what is the risk of a tsunami actually impacting the Cayman Islands based on the position and characteristics of fault lines and the geographical features surrounding our islands? I would expect it’s so low as to be practically zero.
Yeah, but they have to justify their jobs and the many Silverado
Tsunamis in the Caribbean have in the past killed thousands, and the physical evidence of this type of rare catastrophe can be found throughout the islands, in Cayman, and on the sea floor. We are 20 miles north of one of the deepest spots in the hemisphere, filled with poorly mapped submarine mountain ranges, that occasionally release material down-slope with enough displacement to send water our way. We will never get much warning from that close, but we could warn others that still have a chance in the sister islands, jamaica, etc.
Pray tell, where is this evidence in Cayman? Can you reference any actual study, paper, or other published document that provides this information for Grand Cayman?
https://www.amazon.com/Geology-Cayman-Islands-Evolution-Successions/dp/303108232X
Dr Brian Jones https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96cRzMdLdI4
At minute mark 59:43, Geologist Dr Brian Jones discusses huge Dolostone Cayman Formation boulders at Pedro Castle and Blow Holes, some estimated at over 10 tons, that have been lifted 6-8m vertically and transported up to 100m laterally inland:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96cRzMdLdI4
Those boulders feature modern corals, and were dated underwater as recently as 660AD and moved there from open ocean, either by (a) super hurricane, or (b) tsunami. Some of them were discovered to have moved another 5-6m after Hurricane Ivan.
Latest edition of his book: https://www.amazon.com/Geology-Cayman-Islands-Evolution-Successions/dp/303108229X/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
We are fortunate not to have a continental shelf.
I have one in my bathroom if you want.
BlackBerry AtHoc app is 4+ years old, gets 2.5 stars of 5 on 61 reviews. Collects Data on Location, Contact Info, User Content, and other identifiers. Warns that “continued use of GPS in background can dramatically decrease battery life”…the last thing anyone needs in an emergency. For all of its years of operation and payroll, the HMCI doesn’t yet have a siren network, or proposed a Tsunami Evacuation Map.
For what? An imaginary hazard.
Puerto Rico Trench bears massive slope failure scars, some as wide as 50 km across. Large tsunamis killed 40 there in 1918, and 1800 more in 1946. The region has high seismicity, plate boundaries, volcanism, large earthquakes, and submarine events. Port Royal Jamaica disappeared in 1692 leading to the establishment of Kingston. Another severe event in 1907. Rare is not the same as imaginary.
The world is drowning under all the acronyms.
Usual running up and down in $70,000 Silverados?
Lunch calls!
HMCI running neck and neck with RCIPS for the self congratulatory award.
please include me in the emergency alerts.
thanks.
Don’t be a dick
Like the ones speeding in $70,000 Chevy Silverados?