Earthquake Awareness Week was observed under the theme, “Earthquakes Have No Season… Be Aware, You can Prepare.”
ODPEM joined with St. Peter’s Anglican Church to launch the week on Sunday, January 9, 2005
Representatives of ODPEM were warmly received at the St. Peter’s Church in Port Royal. St. Peter’s is one of the oldest Anglican churches in Jamaica and serves as a rich heritage of actual disaster events.
Reverend Leslie Hoo Sang delivered a very relevant sermon on Earthquake Preparedness and called on the nation to learn from the experiences of the Tsunami in south east Asia on December 26.
PANEL DISCUSSION
TOPIC: “EARTHQUAKE THREATS…HOW PREPARED ARE WE?”
Monday, January 10, 2005
A panel discussion on the topic, “Earthquake Threats How Prepared Are We ?” was held at the Negril Suite, Le Meridien Jamaica Pegasus on Monday, January 10 at 10:00 a.m.
The function was well attended with over seventy persons in attendance. Panelists included: Dr. Barbara Carby, ODPEM; Dr. Margaret Wiggans-Grandison of the Earthquake Unit and Mr. Franklyn Williams, Chief Engineer, National Water Commission (NWC).
Dr. Carby in her presentation noted that the nation was unprepared to manage a major earthquake. She pointed to the incapacity of the state-run hospitals and the fire services to manage emergencies under normal circumstances and questioned what would occur in a big event.
Dr. Grandison in her presentation said that Kingston was prone to earthquakes especially since the soil type was mainly alluvium based and therefore buildings were very vulnerable to earthquakes. She compared Kingston to the Cayman Islands where she noted that the geological composition consisted of impermeable rock-types and therefore was not as susceptible to earthquakes as Kingston, Jamaica was.
On the matter of Tsunamis, she said that they also posed a threat but the chances are lower and that there is good sense in paying attention to where you build while adhering to high building standards.
Mr. Williams, Chief Engineer of the NWC, in his presentation noted that most of the pipelines would stand up to a major earthquake. He explained however that the water systems depended heavily on the availability of electricity following a major earthquake.
HAZARD AWARENESS DAY - MONTEGO BAY HIGH SCHOOL
Tuesday, January 11
Hundreds of students from 16 educational institutions in Montego Bay and its environs participated in the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) Hazard Awareness Day activities, held at the Montego Bay High School in St. James on Tuesday (January 11)
The Hazard Awareness Day was spearheaded by the ODPEM with support through the Montego Bay Hazard Management Project through the Jamaica Institute of Environmental Professionals (JIEP) and the Environmental Foundation of Jamaica. (EFJ)
Students from Primary, Preparatory, Junior High and High Schools were invited to participate in this exercise by presenting items in song, dance, poetry, dub poetry and short skits.
A poster competition was also conducted where there were twenty seven entries from two schools - Barracks Road Primary and the Heinz Simonitch School. Consolation Prizes were presented to all the entrants of the competition.
This category will attract a large trophy for best poster, a small trophy for second place and a placque for the third place. The presentation will be carried out by the Parish disaster Coordinator at a meeting of the St. James Parish Disaster Committee.
Trophies were presented to the winners for:
Best Dub Poetry SOS Children’s Village
Best Disaster Related Dance St. James High School
Best Skit Hemingay Preparatory School
Plaques were presented for:
Best Poetry Piece Morant Bay High School
Best Song Catherine Hall Primary School
OUTSIDE BROADCASTS……………….. Spreading the Earthquake message
Several outside broadcasts were planned for the week started with a lively and informative session with Host, Ronnie Thwaites on Independent Talk on Power 106 on Tuesday, January 11, live from the ODPEM Conference Room. Special guests were: Mrs. Joy Alexander of NEPA, Dr. Margaret Grandison of the Earthquake Unit, Dr. Barbara Carby and Nadene Newsome of ODPEM and Al Adams of SMADA Consultants.
On Thursday, January 13 it was off to Port Royal, the site of the 1692 Earthquake with the Energizer Bunny, Jenny Jenny on Radio 2. Resource persons for the programme included Officers from the Fire Prevention Unit of the Jamaica Fire Brigade and students of Vaz Preparatory and Clan Carty High School who did a live demonstration for the duck, cover and hold procedure. Dr. Margaret Wiggans-Grandison, Seismologist with the Earthquake Unit was very informative on the topic of the recent tsunamis which affected south east Asia and its implications for Jamaica.
The Jenny Jenny Show also served as a promotional card for the Earthquake Awareness Expo held at Fort Charles, Port Royal.
D.J. Niron and the “Wild Child”, Tricia Spence were on location at Fort Charles for the shakedown between 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. An earthquake quiz was done on air with several prizes and surprises. Mega Jamz was also on location for the day, playing sounds from the eighties and interviewing the exhibitors present.
The next stop on the broadcast train was at the Earthquake Unit located at the University of the West Indies (Mona). The lively duo of Gladstone Wilson and Rose Bennett hosted First Edition, on Friday morning. They were hosted by staff of the Unit. Guests on the show included Dr. Grandison, Head of Earthquake Unit, Dr. Balfour Spence, Senior Lecturer and Coordinator for the Caribbean Hazard Mitigation Project, Karen Black and Raymond Stewart of the Earthquake Unit.
Apart from focusing on Earthquake Preparedness, the programme also helped to promote the Open Day. Representatives from the exhibiting organizations such as the Jamaica Red Cross, MEDI- GRACE Limited and the National Environment and Planning Agency were interviewed on the programme.
EATHQUAKE AWARENESS DAY IN BUSINESSES
Several businesses across the island independently carried out activities in observation of Earthquake Awareness Week in Businesses. Businesses circulated brochures and other pamphlets from the ODPEM. Businesses were encouraged to sensitize staff, mount displays and conduct drills.
The organizations which conducted drills included:
· Capital and Credit Merchant Bank
· Ministry of Health
· United General Insurance Company
· Post and Telecoms Department
· Office of the Registrar of Companies
· Red Stripe
EARTHQUAKE AWARENESS DAY IN SCHOOLS
Earthquake Awareness Day in schools was carried out with the full endorsement from the Ministry of Education and Culture on Thursday, January 13. The major event carried by the ODPEM for the day was the Earthquake Awareness Expo at Fort Charles, Port Royal.
Schools were encouraged to undertake earthquake related activities in the classroom mount exhibits and conduct hazard hunts.
A drill was carried out by the ODPEM at Hillel Academy by Mr. Omar Afflick, Regional Coordinator on Tuesday, January 11.
EARTHQUAKE AWARENESS EXPO 2005
Some 5,000 students from schools across the island converged on Fort Charles, Port Royal for Disaster Preparedness Day in Schools which was observed on Thursday, January 13, 2005 with the staging of Earthquake Awareness Expo at Fort Charles.
A review is currently being explored.
COMMUNITY MEETING AT MITCHELL TOWN
The community meeting for residents of Mitchell Town was held on Friday, January 14. Residents came out in their numbers to learn about Earthquake Preparedness and the Clarendon leg of the Community-Based Disaster Management Project which will be carried out between the latter part of January and April, 2005.
Presentations were made by Nadene Newsome and Sophia Mitchell of ODPEM, Mr. Nether Lyttle, Parish Disaster Coordinator for Clarendon and Miss Aleith James, Information Officer, Mandeville Regional Office of the JIS.
PRAYER AND WORSHIP ENDED THE WEEK
The staff of the ODPEM joined with the North Street Seventh Day Adventist to close the week’s activities. Messages were read by Mr. David Threat, Peace Corps Volunteer and Nadene Newsome of ODPEM.
