First testing of tsunami warning protocols to be held in Grenada
Bridgetown, Barbados - Grenada has been selected as the first of four pilot countries to test newly developed tsunami warning protocols for the Caribbean. The protocols are being developed under the Tsunamis and Other Coastal Hazards Warning System (TCHWS) Project which aims to accelerate the region’s ability to respond to tsunamis and other coastal hazards.
National disaster managers from across the region will get hands-on introduction to the protocols on April 7, 2009; at a workshop to be held at the Grenada Grand Beach Resort, Grand Anse. On April 8 and 9, Grenada’s national disaster responders will modify the protocols to suit local conditions and test them in preparation for wider regional testing later this month as part of the Fuerzas Aliadas Humanitarian (FAHUM) exercises.
The TCHWS project is being implemented by the Caribbean Disaster Response Agency (CDERA) with US$475,200 in funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). This project supports the development of a comprehensive tsunami and other coastal system warning system for the Caribbean and Latin America currently being coordinated by the Intergovernmental Oceanic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO.
The protocols being tested in Grenada will be further modified and tested in three other CDERA Participating States namely, Jamaica, Barbados and Antigua and Barbuda. The protocols are expected to be implemented in all 16 CDERA Participating States.
The TCHWS is a two year project initiated in 2007 which also 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 sensitizing their populations and modifying the generic protocols and standard operating procedures for local use.
The TCHWS Project will end in September 2009 and 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.