Normally, we don’t think about natural disasters until they actually happen. For us in the Caribbean hurricanes are our worst nightmares. Tornadoes, tsunamis, volcanoes, snowstorms and such natural disasters we only hear about. Earthquakes are a little closer to home but still not a priority. Yes, we have suffered at the hands of earthquakes in the past; on June 07, 1692 a massive one sank two-thirds of Port Royal; however that was so long ago that for most of us it’s just history.

Despite the nonchalant attitude of most people towards the possibilities of a major earthquake here in Jamaica the authorities do their best to keep us aware. January 09 - 15, 2010 was Earthquake Awareness Week in Jamaica. This is an annual event staged by the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM). The theme for this year was ‘Learn, Plan, Prepare…the next big quake could be near!’ (yu think dem did get a tip). The aim was to increase the general awareness of the Jamaican public to the importance of preparing for an earthquake.

DO YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO IN CASE OF AN EARTHQUAKE? ARE YOU PREPARED? Seriously I’m clueless. The only thing I can think of is get away from any buildings, if you can. Then what?

As you all know, on January 12, 2010, Haiti was struck by a major, major 7.0 quake. The devastation was unbelievable. The daily horror stories coming out of Haiti are heart breaking. But what is also very scary is the fact that to date, January 20, 2010 we continue to have daily earthquakes within the region. For more information you can visit http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/quakes_all.php.

From what I understand an earthquake is caused when there is an abrupt shift of rocks along a fracture in the Earth called a fault. The earth is divided into three main layers - a hard outer crust, a soft middle layer and a center core. The outer crust is broken into massive, irregular pieces called "plates." Earthquakes occur when the earth shakes due to the movements of plates below the earth’s crust. The strength or magnitude of an earthquake is determined by the amount of ground shaking at a particular site as well as from reports of human reaction to shaking, damage done to structures, and other effects. Two main scales exist for defining the strength, the Mercalli Scale and the Richter Scale.

Looking at the latest earthquakes in the region over the past 8 days, the picture emerging is very discomforting. I am no scientist but as we say in Jamaica ‘it no look good’. On the map below (taken from the site listed above) Bold red lines are plate boundaries. The blue squares are earthquakes that occurred today and the yellow squares occurred this week. The earthquakes actually form a pattern around the Caribbean plate. I have listed the earthquakes recorded over the last 3 days. Jamaica’s location along the northern margin of the Caribbean Plate and the presence of very active faults, I believe, makes us very vulnerable to an earthquake at this time.

So again I ask, do you known what to do in the event of an earthquake? If not I think it is prudent for us all to get informed and prepare as best we can. I think the people at ODPEM got it right; we need to, ‘Learn, Plan, Prepare…the next big quake could be near!’

Nuff Love