UNESCO official pushes for tsunami awareness in schools

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) official wants to see tsunami awareness formally included in the school curriculum.

Programme Officer for Coastal Hazards and the Caribbean Tsunami Information Centre Alison Brome made the suggestion during a Tsunami Ready Recognition ceremony for St James Central communities on Tuesday, World Tsunami Awareness Day, at the Department of Emergency Management (DEM) in Warrens Industrial Park.

“The formal integration of tsunami awareness within the education system and the curriculum is dear to the heart of the Caribbean Tsunami Information Centre and we will redouble our efforts towards mobilising resources and partnerships in this regard to better service our member states,” she said.

Brome added that the inclusion of persons with disabilities in information dissemination has also been a “central consideration of the Tsunami Ready Recognition programme”.

“And more is being done to ensure formal integration of these considerations…. Communities are now required to include information on the total number of persons living with disabilities within the community,” she said, adding that a tsunami brochure was also translated to braille with the support of the US-based International Tsunami Information Centre Caribbean Office.

Having received Tsunami Ready Recognition, St James Central joins several other communities across the island with that status.

The DEM and the Coastal Zone Management Unit (CZMU) had collaborated with their national and international partners to complete the implementation phase of the UNESCO-IOC-led Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions project: Strengthening Capacities of Early Warning and Response for Tsunamis and other Coastal Hazards in the Caribbean for St James Central.

Representatives from the community received their recognition certificates during Tuesday’s ceremony.

DEM Director Kerry Hinds, who is also Chair of the National Tsunami Recognition Board, commended the participants who dedicated their time and effort to meet the requirements needed to secure the recognition.

Hinds said: “St James Central manoeuvred its way towards this achievement…. We have reached this milestone. I say ‘we’ because the national system shares in this community achievement.”

“I hope to see the community’s resources continually being mobilised and active learning taking place, utilising the standard tsunami guidelines for communities. Lean not exclusively on your own understanding but utilise the collective expertise of the Technical Standing Committee of Coastal Hazards, which is co-led by CZMU and the DEM as well as the resources of your community,” she added.

“The DEM will continue to champion this programme as it is in keeping with our core mandate and work programme priorities of educating all citizens about hazards that can potentially impact communities and employing practical strategies and solutions to manage such.”

Consultant Disaster Emergency Officer, Selwyn Brooks, highlighted the importance of the recognition for St James as he noted that about 12 000 people pass through that parish daily.

“This area also houses over 2 500 residents that can be negatively impacted should a tsunami hit this coastline. It is estimated that over 12 000 persons traverse this area on a daily basis as they come into this area… and this figure can fluctuate especially during the tourist season. The vulnerability of this area is therefore of significant concern as a result of a number of potential hazards which can impact this area – flooding, storm surge, and possibly tsunami or any other seismic activity.”

Brooks also highlighted the importance of collaboration to effectively strategise a disaster risk management plan.

“Several meetings were held with our stakeholders, namely the Coastal Zone Management Unit, the Barbados Fire Service, the Barbados Police Service, representatives from the hotel and villa sector, the residents’ associations, and the water sports entities to seek to develop a community tsunami emergency operation plan,” he said. (LG)