The exercise simulates a tsunami that arose after an 8.0-magnitude earthquake in Jamaica. Photo: EFE / Salvador Sas / File
Simulated tsunami triggered by an 8-magnitude earthquake in Jamaica, as Colombia will suffer the impact of the San Andres archipelago Most of the coastal municipalities in the Caribbean have taken part in a new version of the Caribbean Wave Regional Exercise.
The National Disaster Risk Management Unit (UNGRD) reports that this tsunami training has been in place since 2013 and there are Member countries participate in the Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Tsunami Warning System And other coastal threats in the Caribbean and adjacent areas.
In the case of Colombia, the National Tsunami Detection and Warning System (SNDAT) entities were tested. Among them are the National Maritime Directorate (DIMAR), the Colombian Geological Service, the Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies (IDEAM) and UNGRD which were present during the six hours of the prevention exercise.
“They put their National Tsunami Warning and Detection Protocol to the test, assessing measures that have been implemented to inform regional authorities and society of alerts related to the occurrence of the earthquake-induced tsunamiAt UNGRD, they explained.
In this entity they refer to it this way The preventive measures to be taken in the event of a tsunami, which on this occasion targeted only the Caribbean and islands in the country, are being strengthened. In this way, the development and evaluation of the Tsunami Warning System operations in that northern coast of Colombia.
In addition, it provides an opportunity to assess the corresponding preparedness of disaster risk management organizations and communities at risk., Including operational communication lines and tsunami response procedures, “they note in UNGRD.
In training, SNDAT entities were attentive to Jamaica earthquake and tsunami warning messages In accordance with the provisions of the detection and warning protocol for this type of natural disaster.
The UNGRD report also reports that the National Army, the National Navy, the Colombian Air Force, the Emergency and Disaster Special Operations Unit of the National Police, the Colombian Red Cross. They also joined the prevention exercise.
They participated in this simulation by making inventories of the capabilities they had in the event of a real tsunami event.This allows an assessment of the tools and elements of preparing for the response that the country must face in facing a phenomenon of this kind. “
Also in exercises, Demar provided information from port captains on the Caribbean coast and the island region to simulate an evacuation in the San Andreas archipelago, Providencia and Santa Catalina.
According to data cited by UNGRD from the United States’ Office of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Between 1530 and 2020 they reported 83 tsunamis in the CaribbeanWhich could have caused mostly earthquakes, but also landslides and after volcanic eruptions. In these natural disasters, an estimated 4,500 people lost their lives.
The Caribbean Wave has been held annually since 2013 and is an exercise carried out by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). This training was coordinated with NOAA and regional risk management organizations in the Caribbean.
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