By Kenichi Serino
A series of small earthquakes that occurred last weekend north of St. Kitts are a warning that the Federation, and the Caribbean region as a whole, need to prepare for a much larger incident, [says Dr. Joan Latchman, an expert at the University of West Indies Seismic Research Centre].
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Latchman could not estimate the extent of the destruction should the region be hit by an earthquake but said it could be much worse than past quakes.
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“Given the population density we have now, we would expect to take a high death toll if the structures were not earthquake resistant.”
Latchman said governments should include earthquake preparation into consideration when it makes public policy, such as infrastructure construction, medical and equipment preparation and building code enforcement.
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Latchman warned that the effects of a devastating earthquake could go beyond property and economic damage but also human resources. She cited the Armenian earthquake of 1988 where 80 percent of the country’s medical professionals were killed.
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