The sister isles of Carriacou and Petite Martinique will be declared Tsunami Ready tomorrow Tuesday on World Tsunami Day.
The project which started in May this year was completed in record time.
On Tuesday, 24 September 2019 a team led by Senator Winston Garraway Minister with Responsibility for Disaster Management and Information and accompanied by Manager of the US NWS Caribbean Tsunami Warning Programme Christa Van Hillebrandt-Andrade, together with a representative from the Met office and NaDMA, conducted the verification visit on the islands, paving the way for the final leg in the process of recognition.
The project is a collaborative initiative between the National Disaster Management Agency (NaDMA), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and UNESCO, through the Caribbean Tsunami Warning Programme (CTWP).
The project valued at $60,000 included the installation of warning signs, the design of inundations maps specific to the parish and the creation of a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the parish in the event of a tsunami.
Speaking to the importance of the recognition to the island, Minister of Carriacou and Petite Martinique Affairs Hon. Kindra Mathurine-Stewart said, “This is music to our ears, we are quite vulnerable because of our location and size, so it is important for us as a people, country, state and islands to be prepared and get ready should a tsunami or any form of hazards were to affect us. So I am extremely happy to be second parish to be recognised Tsunami Ready”.
Carriacou and Petite Martinique will be the second district to be given the recognition, the first being St Patrick in September 2018.
The official recognition ceremony will be held at the Ade’s Dream Hotel Conference room at 1 pm, in the presence of representatives from the Caribbean Tsunami Warning Centre (CTIC), Government and non-governmental agencies and community members.
NaDMA, the official source for all disaster-related information in Grenada.