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Sunday, August 23, 2009
Four Caribbean countries will shortly see an upgrade in their capacity to respond to tsunami threats.
The announcement was made by The Barbados based Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA). CDERA stated that the tsunami warning project, developed at a cost of US$475,000 will be implemented in Barbados, Jamaica, Grenada and Antigua and Barbuda.
The four countries are among the first CDERA Participating States to complete protocols and standard operating procedures for tsunami warnings. This will enable emergency responders to receive, interpret and issue messages to warn at-risk populations about tsunamis.
The new regional protocols come almost five years after the deadly 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, which killed close to 300,000 people across eight countries in Asia and Africa.
CDERA's Co-ordinator, Jeremy Collymore, says the 2004 event influenced the Agency's decision in 2007 to improve the region's capacity for dealing with fast onset hazards.
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