Barbados to modify and test tsunami warning protocols
Bridgetown, Barbados - Members of staff from the Department of Emergency Management and the Coastal Zone Management Authority are among representatives from 30 local agencies and organisations who will modify and test tsunami warning protocols at a two-day national workshop to be held at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, between June 29 and 30, 2009.
Barbados is one of four pilot states that will modify the protocols for local conditions and test them under a United States Agency for International Development (USAID)- sponsored Tsunami and Other Coastal Hazards Warning System (TCHWS) project being implemented by the Caribbean Disaster response Agency (CDERA).
The TCHWS project is funded to the tune of US$475,200. This project supports the development of a comprehensive tsunami and other coastal hazards warning system for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions currently being coordinated by the Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions (ICG/CARIBE).
The tsunami warning protocols for the Caribbean are being developed in an effort to accelerate the region’s ability to respond to tsunamis and other coastal hazards. The other pilot states are Jamaica, Grenada and Antigua. National disaster managers from across the region were first introduced to the model protocols in early April at a workshop in Grenada. Protocols are rules and guidelines which determine not only the monitoring and communication of hazard information, but also the process of training public officials, methods of communication and public awareness so that communities are able to respond appropriately in times of disasters.
The project was initiated in 2007 and is expected to end in September 2009. It aims to improve the ways in which at-risk communities are warned and prepared to respond to tsunamis and other coastal hazards. As part of this process, public awareness and educational materials as well as a Protocol Development Guide are being developed to assist countries in sensitising their populations and modifying the generic protocols and standard operating procedures for local use.
The TCHWS project falls under two of the medium term goals of the region’s Comprehensive Disaster Management framework which seek to enhance community resilience and disaster management knowledge. It is estimated that about 2.5 million people in CDERA participating states living in coastal communities are at risk of coastal hazards and tsunamis.
CDERA Participating States include Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Lucia, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago and Turks & Caicos.
For further information contact:
Andria Grosvenor,
Technical Manager, Preparedness and Country Support
Caribbean Disaster Response Agency (CDERA)
Telephone: 1 (246) 425-0386/88
Fax: 1 (246) 425 8854
E-mail: cdera@caribsurf.com
Website: www.cdera.org