THE Institute of Sustainable Development (ISD) at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona is working on a project to determine the economic cost that an earthquake, the likes of that experienced in 1907 and more recently in 1993, would have on Jamaica today.

The research, according to environmental economist/project officer with the institute, Maurice Mason, should help to inform policy on hazard mitigation and risk reduction in the island. Work started two weeks ago and should be completed by mid-January.

“.It will provide an empirical analysis of the socio-economic cost of natural disasters to the Jamaican economy,” said Mason.

The research, which is being funded jointly through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and university, comes at a time when countries the world over, including the Caribbean, are concerned about the effects that natural disasters – earthquakes, hurricanes or floods – can have on their economies.

Among the researchers will be geologist Rafi Ahmad, while there will be a simulation of the 1907 and 1993 earthquakes, which measured 6.5 and 5.4 respectively on the Richter scale, Mason said.

According to Mason, the findings of the research should serve to inform discussions on the effects of disasters locally. “A lot of times there are discussions on the radio and a lot of the times, the discussions are not fully informed,” he said.

Data on the 1907 earthquake was not readily available, but Ahmad in an article, ‘Primer on Earthquake Hazards and Disasters in Jamaica’, which was published in the 1999 issue of the journal Caribbean Geography Volume 10, #2, outlined effects of the 1993 earthquake.

Mason, quoting from the journal’s article, noted that in the 1993 earthquake 518 families were affected – 450 of which were from Kingston and St Andrew. At the same time, 7,871 insurance claims reporting $152 million in damage/losses were filed.

There were, he said, also massive landslides that occurred and millions of dollars in telecommunication equipment were lost or damaged, as was equipment owned by the National Water Commission.

williamsp@jamaicaobserver.com