Tsunami silence irks PNP

The Opposition People’s National Party yesterday raised concerns over what it considered the failure of the Government and the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) to communicate with the nation while the island was under a tsunami alert following a 7.6 magnitude earthquake in the Caribbean Sea on Saturday evening.

In a statement yesterday, Natalie Neita Garvey, the opposition spokesperson on local government, lambasted the Andrew Holness administration and the ODPEM and demanded accountability, claiming that they had left the nation “in the dark” despite Jamaica being among a number of nations placed under a tsunami alert.

According to the United States (US) Geological Survey, the earthquake occurred on Saturday about 130 miles south-southwest of George Town, the capital of The Cayman Islands.

A report by US media outlet The Miami Herald indicated that a tsunami threat was initially forecast for 20 countries and islands, including The Bahamas, Belize, The Cayman Islands, Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica, and Turks and Caicos.

In her statement, Neita Garvey said the alert was issued at approximately 6:30 p.m. Saturday and was lifted about an hour and 10 minutes later.

“At no time during the 70 minutes the alert was in effect did the country hear from its Government or the responsible agency, the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management,” she added.

Neita Garvey said that had a tsunami occurred, “it would have resulted in a disaster of catastrophic proportions as no bulletin was issued to warn the population, nor were any instructions provided on how to respond to such an event – save for a release over three hours later informing of an advisory but denying a warning”.

She said the Opposition considered the handling of the event “a gross dereliction of duty and an extremely irresponsible failure by the Ministry of Local Government and the ODPEM”.

Urgent review needed

She added that she was calling for an urgent review of the country’s disaster alert and warning systems to ensure that they are fully functional and supported by adequate response mechanisms, expertise, and funding.

Neita Garvey described the performance of the ministry and its agency as “scary” and demanded that Desmond McKenzie, the minister of local government and community development, immediately provide the nation with a credible explanation.

In the advisory referenced by Garvey Neita, issued at 10 p.m., the ODPEM had acknowledged on Saturday night that an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.6 at a depth of 10.0 km (6.2137 miles) occurred at 209km SSW of George Town, Cayman Islands, as reported by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center on Saturday.

“Although Jamaica was issued an advisory for a possible tsunami wave, at no point in time was a tsunami warning issued for Jamaica. The main areas of concern were Honduras and The Cayman Islands,” the ODPEM said.

The disaster-management body went further to stress that it, in conjunction with the Meteorological Service of Jamaica and supported by the Jamaica Constabulary Force, is the authority with the responsibility to issue a tsunami warning for the island. The issuing of a warning is done based on assessment of data provided by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

“Notifications were made to the National Tsunami Response Team and the Parish Response Mechanism,” the ODPEM said, noting that an all-clear bulletin had already been issued for the region as the tsunami threat had passed.