WE may never know just how much appreciation there is for earthquake awareness efforts among people, even after a slew of events to share such information as was done last year January, the month this country has dedicated to keeping the population on guard and to remind us of the devastating effects of this force of nature.

Historians remind us that on January 14, 1907 Kingston was wrecked by a magnitude-6.2 quake that left more than 1,000 people dead, millions of dollars in property damage, and fires that raged for at least three hours.

Just over 200 years before that, in 1692, one of history’s most-talked-about earthquakes destroyed the infamous pirate city of Port Royal, causing a major portion to be swallowed by the sea.

History also records that in 1957 a major quake caused damage and loss of life in Montego Bay and the wider western Jamaica.

Scientists tell us that annually there are about 200 or more minor quakes in the vicinity of Jamaica — most apparently only felt by relevant measuring instruments.

Last year, seismic activity was particularly spry as, by our count, there were at least 19 felt earthquakes, the strongest being a magnitude-6.5 episode on November 10.

We should never forget that Jamaica lies on a major earthquake fault in the northern Caribbean. That’s why many people here felt the seismic waves from the magnitude-7.0 earthquake that devastated Haiti in 2010.

That catastrophic movement of the Earth’s crust killed hundreds of thousands of people in our sister Caricom nation, and provided staggering proof of nature’s constantly lurking danger.

Against that background, it is important that we remain on constant alert.

Last year January, as we pointed out, the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management worked hard to keep the country focused on this danger, staging an earthquake drill to highlight its readiness, an earthquake symposium to discuss the country’s level of readiness for seismic events, an earthquake roadshow titled Talk in the Park, and other activities. While we haven’t seen the same level of intensity this January — and if we are wrong we would be happy to be corrected — every Jamaican has a duty to be prepared.

In fact, preparedness should be constant, not just in January alone. As such, earthquake drills should be a frequent activity in schools, homes, workplaces, public spaces, etc, to ensure that we put the required safety measures into practice.

Also, let us not forget that while the Atlantic hurricane season officially starts in June, the effects of climate change on our planet have skewed weather patterns, so much so that in January 2016 Hurricane Alex formed in the Atlantic Ocean. That, of course, was a very rare event — the second time on record since 1938.

However, what that demonstrates is that no human can accurately predict how the forces of nature will behave at any given time, especially in this era of global warming. Science has given mankind the tools to credibly, in most instances, provide forecasts that we all can use to guide our actions in order to lessen or, in some instances, prevent disaster. However, nothing beats being prepared.