The magnitude 7.7 earthquake that rocked Jamaica and some other Caribbean islands, as well as Florida, yesterday serves as a timely reminder from Mother Nature that we need to keep strengthening our ability to respond to natural disasters.

Luckily, so far, there have been no reports of fatalities or injuries resulting from the earthquake. Additionally, a tsunami warning issued in the aftermath of the tremor never materialised, leading to a lessening of anxiety, especially here in Jamaica, where it is generally acknowledged that a damaging earthquake can occur at any time.

That is why we do not resile from our duty in this space to constantly remind that it is extremely important that the State and, indeed, every Jamaican, consider it their duty to be prepared to respond to disasters.

We note that as part of efforts to achieve that ideal the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) had, some years ago, implemented a Disaster Vulnerability Reduction Project funded by the Government through a US$30-million loan from the World Bank. Essentially that project was designed to make infrastructural developments more resilient by improving the capacity of government institutions to generate and use hazard and risk information to inform national planning. It also focused on increasing awareness about disaster-risk reduction, building resilience, and emergency management.

The project, which started in 2016 and will run through to 2022, also includes the development of a National Risk Information Platform which allows all risk data to be located and updated in a centralised platform available to government agencies and the public.

We also recall that in 2018 JSIF provided well-needed equipment to the Earthquake Unit at The University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, in an effort to strengthen the unit’s ability to monitor and respond to seismic activity.

The equipment included 10 digital seismometer systems that provide data on an earthquake’s magnitude, depth, and epicentre; 30 accelerographs for seismic stations, hospitals, and schools to measure the horizontal force acting on a building; and 72 ethernet radios, with antennae, which transmit data in real time from seismic stations to the Central Recording Station at The UWI.

The unit was also promised software, computer server, and network-attached storage, in addition to laboratory equipment such as portable oscilloscope, spectrum analyser and multiplexer.

Additionally, the project was designed to develop human-capacity building in the area of seismology, where a junior research fellow at The UWI, Mona, will earn a scholarship to pursue a doctorate in seismology. Upon completion, the student would be employed as a seismologist within The UWI’s Earthquake Unit.

All that, we expect, would have now been in place and working, helping to improve efficiency at the unit which, we must state, has been doing an excellent job, as is the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management in informing and educating Jamaicans how to respond to the forces of nature.

Let us state again, the country cannot be too prepared for these eventualities. Being prepared can mean the difference between life, injury, or, at worst, death.