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On Wednesday March 23, the
Virgin Islands will join other localities in the
Caribbean as a participant in a tsunami response
exercise designed to evaluate local response plans,
increase preparedness, and improve coordination
throughout the region.
Governor John P. de
Jongh, Jr. said “The 2010 earthquakes and tsunamis,
specifically in Haiti and Chile, have clearly
demonstrated that there is an urgent need for us to be
more prepared for these types of events. This important
exercise will test the current procedures of the Tsunami
Warning System and help identify our operational
strengths and weaknesses.”
The exercise, titled
CARIBE WAVE 11/LANTEX 11, will simulate a widespread
tsunami warning and watch situation throughout the
Caribbean which requires implementation of local tsunami
response plans. It is the first such international
exercise in the Caribbean region and will include public
notification through the Emergency Alert System, which
means a tsunami warning message will be aired on radio
and televisions stations across the territory.
The exercise will
simulate a major earthquake and tsunami generated 25
miles southeast of Fajardo, Puerto Rico and 55 miles
southeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico at 9 a.m. Atlantic
Standard Time. At approximately 9:02 a.m. on March 23,
the territory’s broadcast radio and television
broadcast stations will test their Emergency Alert
System using a live Tsunami Warning Code to determine
the effectiveness and preparedness of the local and
federal agencies to warn coastal communities in the
event of a distant tsunami.
According to Acting VITEMA Director Elton Lewis, the
Virgin Islands will use a live code to test the
emergency alert system which means that radio and
television stations across the territory will broadcast
a tsunami warning message. “Currently VITEMA utilizes
VI Alert, the territory’s mass alert and notification
system to notify residents via e-mail, cell phone or
land line of any type of event that will impact the
Virgin Islands. However, less than half of the
territory’s population is using this free service. The
traditional Emergency Alert System allows us to have
another mass notification tool if we need to quickly
disseminate critical life safety information about a
short-fused event,” said Director Lewis.
VITEMA and Office of the
Governor are working with both the public and private
sectors to prepare for the event including the
Department of Education, the Department of Tourism and
VI Police Department as well as with the US Department
of Homeland Security’s Integrated Public Alert and
Warning System division. If a real tsunami threat occurs
during the time period of the exercise, the exercise
will be terminated.
The exercise is sponsored
by the UNESCO/IOC Intergovernmental Coordination Group
for Tsunami and Other Coastal Hazards Warning System for
the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions (ICG/CARIBE-EWS), the
Caribbean Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), the
Centro de Coordinación para la Prevención de los
Desastres Naturales en América Central (CEPREDENAC),
the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) and by the U.S. National Tsunami Hazard
Mitigation Program (NTHMP – a partnership of 29 states
and territories and three federal agencies).
For more information on
the U.S. tsunami warning system, see www.tsunami.gov.
For more information on the NTHMP, see nthmp.tsunami.gov.
For more information on the ICG/CARIBE-EWS, see www.ioc-tsunami.org.
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