Tsunami Run draws big crowd, drives home safety message

Nearly a thousand people participated in Run Tsunami Run on Sunday, a flagship event of the Department of Emergency Management (DEM).

A total of 890 participants converged on Bay Street for the event, which marked the culmination of activities for Coastal Hazard and Earthquake Smart Month. Just over 600 people participated in the event last year.

Speaking at the start of the DEM and Coastal Zone Management Unit’s 5K Run/Walk at the Bay Street Esplanade, Director of the DEM, Kerry Hinds, explained that the exercise was designed to simulate evacuation from a hazard zone to a safe zone.

“We’ve packaged this particular run in a 5K walk and run. It is really moving from the hazard zone to the zone of safety, and then you return when everything is over. And yes, Barbados has been impacted by a tsunami before, right in this area where we are right now.”

A representative from the Government of Japan said the event should be treated as a practical training opportunity.

“So actually, it is a very good initiative. Today is a run and a walk, but it’s not a competition—it’s a very good opportunity to practice what to do when a strong earthquake or tsunami may happen.”

He also highlighted the significance of such activities, referencing Japan’s own experience.

“In 2011, Japan was affected by a strong earthquake and about a 20-metre tsunami, and about 20,000 people lost their lives in March 2011. It’s a real disaster.”

DEM programme officer Simon Alleyne outlined key tsunami warning signs and the appropriate response.

“If you see the sea recede in a very strange way, what do you do? All right, if you’re by the beach and there’s a major earthquake, after the shaking, what do you do? If you hear a strange roar coming from the sea and you see the water chopping and there’s a lot of foam on the water, what do you do? Right, run—run to high ground—and that is the message about tsunami awareness.”

Minister of Home Affairs Gregory Nicholls said the exercise was real-life preparation for tsunami response: “The exercise is also important because we have to be conscious of what is necessary to be done in the event of a tsunami, and we are asking participants to enjoy this afternoon’s walk and run, but also to be conscious that you might have to deploy this very important activity in the event of such a disaster.”

The government was expected to host a meeting of the Emergency Management Advisory Council on Monday, Nicholls announced, “make sure that we do everything to ensure Barbadians are prepared and ready to respond, including to any of our neighbouring countries in the Caribbean community that might need assistance or relief from any natural disaster”.

(LG)