Waiting for the next quake...

Tuesday, March 02, 2010

WE wouldn't be surprised to learn that many Jamaicans have been watching television coverage of last Saturday's magnitude 8.8 earthquake in Chile with a deep sense of foreboding.

For we are still empathising with our Caribbean neighbour, Haiti, and reflecting on the fact that the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that devastated Port-au-Prince on January 12, killing an estimated 200,000 people and leaving millions homeless, could have occurred here.

In fact, it was just three Mondays ago that we commented in this space on the fact that the earthquake in Haiti has focused attention on building codes here.

Our reflection was informed by the volume of fatalities and injuries in Haiti resulting from collapsed buildings, as well as a Jamaica Information Service story that an updated building code is yet to be made law here.

Yesterday, our concerns grew tenfold during a discussion with members of the Jamaica Institution of Engineers (JIE) at our weekly Observer Monday Exchange.

The engineers told us that the national building code has not been updated since 1908, a year after the earthquake that demolished Kingston.

What that means is that we are not in a position to vouch for the structural integrity of a great many of the buildings in this country, even as we acknowledge that many of the structures would have benefited from the expertise of qualified engineers.

Interestingly, Mr Noel DaCosta, chairman of the JIE's Building Code Committee, informed us that a new code was completed in 2008 after long, extensive and, we dare say, expensive work by well over 100 engineers who contributed their time and knowledge to this effort.

The problem is that, having completed and presented the document to the Government, it appears that it has not yet been placed before the Cabinet.

Amazing!

Is there no sense of urgency in the administration in relation to this very important issue?

To make matters worse, Mr DaCosta and the members of the JIE believe that -- depending on the epicentre and focal point -- approximately 70 per cent of Jamaica's building stock could be destroyed if we are hit by an earthquake similar in magnitude to that which clobbered Chile last Saturday.

That is not a comforting thought, especially for the fact that Jamaica exists on the same earthquake fault line as Haiti, and we have, in the past, felt its destructive force -- Port Royal in 1692 and, as we already pointed out, Kingston in 1907.

We acknowledge that the country is facing difficult economic times and that the Government is faced with the unenviable task of juggling our meagre resources. However, the administration would be penny wise and pound foolish to ignore this opportunity to bring Jamaica in line with current international building standards.

For it will cost us more in the long run to repair the damage if we fail to adopt measures designed to minimise the effects of one of nature's most devastating forces.

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COMMENTS (3)

J.Maureen Haughton
3/5/2010

We elect the Parliamentarians on the basis of distribution of spoils, whether before or after the elections - then we expect them to be any good at reviewing complex documents such as legislation in legalese, where some cannot string together a good sentence in English. They would certainly need support but cannot pay for an aide, and the government does not provide them with an office with staff that can help them. Then we quarrel that they are not up to the job & things move too slowly in the Parliament. Go figure

3/3/2010

The Nightmare continues all of these things have just became urgent and pressing since .....oh 2007.
Not that we should not scream at the top of our lungs but with 24 hours in the day and Jamaica a failed state is hardly likely this was going to be done the day after the report was presented.
I think the 4th Plantation can do Jamaicans a favour by preparign us for the changes.
You know like when their favourite plaza needs to torn down because of code violations.
When the density of certain place in the Corporate Area have to be reduced.
Who is going to make those highly charged, political decisions? Sending Dudus to his eventual destiny will be a cakewalk to telling the folks of Jones Town or Norbook that have to clear out.
Speaking of which if all things remain the same, but we have better buildings, the earthquake came anyway and make life at least difficult......Would our culture of tribalism and garrisonization allow us to access and distribute aid any better than Haitians for Chileans?
I think we have some serious cultural issues that we must solve, even with better buildings.

Richie L
3/2/2010

I wrote about this same inaction by the government in the story about Dudus and his delayed extradition to the US. Why does it take so much time to pass laws that are in the interest of all Jamaicans when we have a parliamentary system?
.
I can't so who would argue against these regulations. Is the Jamaican Parliament so busy that they can not set aside two days to debate this proposal and vote? Why is the workings of Parliament so slow?

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Waiting for the next quake...