The Disaster Management Coordination Agency’s (DMCA) annual Caribe Wave Tsunami Exercise on Thursday, March 21, 2024, was a two-fold success.
The first part of the activity was a tsunami evacuation drill conducted at Woodlands Beach, where a simulated high magnitude underwater earthquake occurred while 15 students and one teacher from the Grade 6 class of the St Augustine Roman Catholic Primary School were having a field trip. The students observed the tsunami natural warning signs, alerted their teacher and moved quickly, running to higher ground in the Woodlands area. The students were keenly aware of the evacuation route signs leading to the designated Rendezvous Point and followed them closely to reach safely in good time. Teacher Vernetta Williams then performed a head count to ensure no one was missing.
Contributing to the success of the tsunami evacuation drill was the student’s prior knowledge of tsunamis based on their research in preparation for today’s exercise.
Temporary evacuation route signs were erected prior to the drill to assist the students and the teacher participating in the exercise.
The other aspect of today’s activity was the erection of a Tsunami Warning Sign in Little Bay as part of DMCA’s preparedness activities to ensure citizens, residents and visitors of Montserrat understand what to do in the event of a tsunami to build community resilience and safeguard individuals on the beaches.
The tsunami drill formed part of CARIBEWAVE, a tsunami exercise held annually in the Caribbean, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands under the direction of UNESCO and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center where a simulated tsunami event is issued to understand the procedures and prepare response in case of a real tsunami.
The concept of tsunami preparedness is once you receive a warning, you head to higher ground.
