The coastal countries of the Caribbean organize a simulation exercise on March 15 to evaluate and update their tsunami response plans.
Called Caribe Wave 18, the exercise will test the rapid warning system against tsunamis and other coastal risks, created in 2005 under the auspices of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission. The test will also allow testing the effectiveness of the alert devices of the different actors in the management of emergency situations in the region.
The simulation foresees a triple scenario: the arrival of a tsunami caused by a strong earthquake off the coast of the southern Lesser Antilles, another occurring off the coast of Colombia and a third to the west of Puerto Rico. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PWTC) will send fictitious warning messages to the 47 participating countries and territories.
Building on the success of the drills carried out in 20016 and 2017, which mobilized 330,000 and 740,000 participants respectively, this time the exercise will bring together representatives of the national warning services, relief services, weather forecast offices, as well as such as the coast guard, students or representatives of the hotel sector.
In the last five centuries, the Caribbean has been hit by 75 tsunamis, that is, 10% of the world's total of oceanic tsunamis that occurred in that period. Generated by earthquakes, landslides or volcanic eruptions, since the mid-19th century they have caused more than 3,500 deaths in the region, according to the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Furthermore, in recent years the population explosion and the concentration of tourists in coastal areas have weakened the region.
Created in 2005 under the auspices of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, the Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Warning System against Tsunami and other Coastal Hazards in the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions (IGC/CARIBBEAN-EWS) helps its Member States to develop their national warning systems.
Contact: Agnès Bardon, UNESCO Public Information Division. Tel:+33 (0) 1 45 68 17 64, a.bardon@unesco.org
Further information and participating countries.