St James PC to mark Earthquake Awareness Week
MONTEGO BAY, St James – The St James Parish Council’s disaster committee will host a raft of events throughout this month to help raise public awareness of earthquakes.
The events will be staged as part of activities to mark Earthquake Awareness Week, which will be observed from January 14 to 20.
“The various events are designed to educate the general public – and schools and business organisations in particular – of the best practices in terms of preparedness,” said urban planner at the parish council, Horace Glaze.
Next Thursday, an open-air exhibition will be held at Sam Sharpe Square in Montego Bay, beginning at 10:00 am. Later in the day, earthquake drills will be carried out by some business places located along St James’ Street.
Acting disaster coordinator at the St James Parish Council, Amanda Thompson, said a number of agencies and businesses will be present at the exhibition “to inform the public of the correct procedures” to be followed in the case of a disastrous earthquake.
“Apart from the fact that we will be commemorating the 100th-year anniversary of the 1907 earthquake that had a devastating impact on the lives of many Jamaicans, particularly those living in Kingston and Port Royal at the time, we also want to highlight some of the dos and don’ts in such an eventuality. We will also make use of the opportunity to observe the effectiveness of the agencies that are responsible for the public’s safety,” said Thompson.
The activities will conclude on January 31 with an earthquake simulation that is to be carried out in the Montego Bay free zone area. The simulation is part of a national effort and will be one of the many earthquake simulations carried out across the island on the day.
Annually, the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) observes Earthquake Week throughout January. The aim is to keep the public abreast of the dangers that accompany an earthquake, and to commemorate the tragedy that resulted from the 1907 earthquake that shook the island on January 14 that year.
