KINGSTON, Jamaica – The Earthquake Unit (EQU) is appealing to members of the public to desist from stealing and destroying seismic monitoring equipment installed at its stations across the island.

Speaking in a recent interview with JIS News, Network Manager/Engineer at the Unit, Paul Williams, said that over the years, several of its broadband and accelerograph stations have suffered theft and vandalism, albeit located in remote areas.

He noted that stations in St Thomas, Trelawny, St James, St Elizabeth and Westmoreland are among those affected.

“The main things that we lose from these sites are batteries and solar panels. From time to time, they take some of the earthquake recording equipment and the wires or the copper that is used for lightning grounding protection,” said Williams.

He informed that the pieces of equipment play an integral role in ensuring that the EQU carries out its duties effectively.

“These are equipment that can save lives or provide information that can save lives in the future. So, it is very important that people in these communities protect them because it is their tax dollars that purchase [the items],” Williams pointed out.

The Network Manager/Engineer informed that, currently, the EQU has 14 broadband stations across the island, 10 of which were established through support from the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) under its Disaster Vulnerability Reduction Project (DVRP).

Additionally, there are more than 40 accelerographs installed at hospitals and schools islandwide.

Williams said that the unit is funded directly by the Government, and as such, the equipment belong to the people of Jamaica and should be safeguarded.

“I am appealing to people, not to remove the equipment because once you remove it, we have to find new funds to replace them,” he pointed out.

The Earthquake Unit is a Research unit at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus. The unit serves as Jamaica’s hub for earthquake monitoring and seismic research.

-JIS