NASSAU,
The Bahamas - The National Emergency Management Agency, through the Bahamas
Department of Meteorology will be participating in a Regional Tsunami Exercise
scheduled to take place Wednesday, March 25, 2015 from 8:30 am to 5pm.
The
exercise is the CARIBE WAVE/LANTEX 2015 Regional Tsunami Exercise, aimed at
testing the Tsunami Warning System for the Caribbean and Adjacent regions.
The
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the organizers of the
exercise states the following: “The goal of this exercise is in addition to
test communication systems, also review tsunami response plans, from the
institutional thru the individual level.”
The Bahamas Department of Meteorology (the National Tsunami
Warning Focal Point)will automaticallyreceive the simulated
products from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center; following which NEMA will be
alert the media and the public at large.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning
Center (PTWC) is one of two tsunami-warning centers that are operated by NOAA in
the United States, which is headquartered in Ewa Beach, Hawaii. It has extended
its warning guidance to include the Indian Ocean, the Caribbean and adjacent
regions.
A tsunami is a series of ocean waves caused by
an underwater earthquake, landslide, or volcanic eruption. More rarely, a
tsunami can be generated by a giant meteor impact with the ocean. These waves
can reach heights of over 100 ft.
Some tsunami facts are:
-
The first wave of a tsunami is usually
not the strongest, successive waves get bigger and stronger.
-
Tsunamis
can travel at speeds of about 500 miles or 805 kilometers an hour, almost
as fast as a jet plane.
-
If
caught by a tsunami wave, it is better not to swim, but rather to grab a
floating object and allow the current to carry you.
-
Tsunamis
retain their energy, meaning they can travel across entire oceans with
limited energy loss.
The Bahamas is a low-lying
archipelago of islands – the highest point in the country is Mt Alvernia
located on Cat Island at 207 ft above sea level.
Therefore, should any part of the country be faced with a tsunami warning and
the threat is imminent, people are asked to seek the highest point from where
they are.
NEMA conducted its first
tsunami exercise one year ago, on Wednesday, March 26, 2014.
Tsunami Safety Tips:
• When in coastal areas, stay alert for tsunami warnings.
• Plan an evacuation route that leads to higher ground.
• Know the warning signs of a tsunami: rapidly rising or falling coastal waters and rumblings of an offshore earthquake.
• Never stay near shore to watch a tsunami come in.
• A tsunami is a series of waves. Do not return to an affected coastal area until authorities say it is safe.