JAMAICA is in the final stages of discussions with the United States Government on a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the establishment of a tsunami early warning system in the island, and the rest of the Caribbean, according to Dean Peart, the local government minister.

Peart, who was speaking in Parliament last week, said Jamaica, under the MOU, would receive a state-of-the-art broadband equipment ready for us in local, regional and global tsunami early warning systems where currently inadequate capability exists.

“Jamaica is set to benefit from the significantly upgraded earthquake-sensing equipment and data interpretation capabilities, and this MoU would see the US Government bearing the cost of all equipment, testing of sites, vault construction and training of locals to operate the station,” the minister told the House.

The early warning system, said Peart, would be made up of nine stations, one of which is to be located at Pike in Manchester.

He said the tsunami warning system – sensory devices planted beneath the sea which are capable of detecting a high intensity earthquake and in real time – would relay the information via satellite to the various stations across the Caribbean and to the headquarters in Washington, United States, for processing and analysis. Following this, an advisory, where necessary, would be dispatched.