Caribbean News
Saturday Earthquake in Jamaica; some feel the tremble
By Rashaed Esson
Staff Writer
#Jamaica, April 17, 2023 – A 4.6 magnitude earthquake struck Jamaica on Saturday April 15, 2023, at around 4:35pm, the epicenter approximately 43 kilometers from Kingston; this was reported by the Earthquake Unit at the University of the West Indies (UWI).
The phenomenon was felt across sections of Haiti, The Bahamas, and Cuba. Minor Outlying islands of The United States also experienced the tremors.
There weren’t any reported major effects of the earthquake on residents throughout the island or the other affected islands.
The convulsion follows the written JIS report on March 29, 2023, and the audio report on April 03, 2023, that urged Jamaicans to “be prepared for the natural disaster.”
The audio report presented by Anjuii James Sawyers, highlighted that Jamaica is prone to “seismic activity” due to its closeness to the Northern Boundary of the Caribbean plate which interacts with the North American plate.
According to Karleen Black, Scientific Officer at UWI Mona’s Earthquake Unit, Jamaica experiences earthquakes almost every day.
Sawyer indicated that hundreds of tremors occur yearly, however, the earthquake unit will only report on the ones that are felt, within 30 minutes or less according to Black.
Considering this, last year the unit detected 173 earthquakes, eight of which were felt.
Luckily, the earthquakes that happen on the island are usually small in nature, ranging from magnitude 1 to 3 and sometimes, maybe around every decade, magnitude 4 or 5, as stated by Black, in the JIS report.
This is due to the type of plate boundary that Jamaica is located on, a transform boundary, which is two plates sliding past each other.
Despite this, she strongly urges Jamaicans to be prepared for earthquakes at any moment given that it is easy to have a false sense of safety given the country’s history with the natural disaster.
She further informed that Jamaica has only had two major earthquakes in its history that are the famous July 1692 earthquake that took down Port Royal and that of January 1907, that wreaked havoc on Kingston.
Some essentials to have in order to be prepared in case of an earthquake are food that doesn’t require cooking, water supply that can last a few days to week or more, a kit with personal medical supplies such as painkillers and general items such as recommended by Black.
Richard Thompson, Acting Director General, Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), in addition to what Ms. Black said, encouraged Jamaicans to follow the recommended protocol of ‘drop, cover and hold’ and to get under something strong enough to withstand the tremors for people inside a building.
For those outside, it is recommended that they find an open area away from buildings, trees, powerlines or any large object that can fall on and injure them.
Earthquakes are unpredictable, they can happen at anytime, anywhere and so, it crucial that we understand the seriousness of the event and are adequately prepared.
KINGSTON, April 29 (JIS):
Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Senator the Hon. Matthew Samuda, says the outcome of discussions arising from the Jamaica National Stakeholder Consultation on Climate Services and the 1st National Climate Forum (NCF-1) will assist in guiding the Government’s planning for climate change.
This, he points out, is important for climate mitigation as well as building Jamaica’s resilience.
“We look forward to the discussions that will, no doubt, take place. We look forward to the basis of planning for the Government to streamline its investments to ensure you have the tools that you need to better advise us, that the WRA (Water Resources Authority) has the tools to digitise its monitoring network, and that all of the agencies that touch our planning mechanisms have the tools. But we need to know what we are facing, and we’re guided by your expertise,” Minister Samuda said.
He was addressing the opening ceremony for the Jamaica National Stakeholder Consultation on Climate Services and the 1st National Climate Forum (NCF-1) at the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel in New Kingston on Monday (April 29).
Senator Samuda said given the fact that the climate has changed and continues to do so, investments in and collaborations on building Jamaica’s predictive and scientific capacity must be prioritised.
“Ultimately, we need to be able to assess our current climatic realities if we are to better plan, if we’re to insist and ensure that our infrastructure meets the needs that we need it to. I’m very happy that this event is happening… because this is a critical issue.
“Jamaica, last year, faced its worst and most severe drought… and this year, we’re already seeing the impacts of not quite as severe a drought but, certainly, a drought with severe impacts, especially in the western part of the country,” he said.
Principal Director, Meteorological Service of Jamaica, Evan Thompson, explained that the forum aims to, among other things, establish a collaboration platform for climate services providers and users to understand risks and opportunities of past, present and future climate developments, as well as improve inter-agency coordination of policies, plans and programmes.
Among the other presenters were Ambassador, European Union to Jamaica, Her Excellency Marianne Van Steen; Chief Scientist/Climatologist, Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology, Adrian Trotman; and Head, Regional Climate Prediction Services, World Meteorological Organization, Wilfran Moufouma-Okia.
The Meteorological Service of Jamaica hosted the Jamaica National Stakeholder Consultation on Climate Services and the 1st National Climate Forum (NCF-1) in partnership with the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology and the World Meteorological Organization.
The National Stakeholder Consultation is a governance mechanism that guides how different sectors or actors work together to create products that contribute to adaptation and resilience-building. It seeks to create a road map for the development and implementation of climate services to inform decision-making.
NCF-1 aims to bridge the gap between climate providers and users. It increases the use of science-based information in decision-making and operations with the aim of generating and delivering co-produced and co-designed products and services.
CONTACT: CHRIS PATTERSON
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