Coastal Hazards and Earthquake Smart Month will be commemorated from March 1 to 31, with a number of activities, under the theme Building Resilience from Coastline to Community.
The month of activities, hosted by the Technical Standing Committee on Coastal Hazards (TSCCH), will commence with an opening ceremony at the Hillcrest Community Centre, Bathsheba, St. Joseph, today Monday, March 3, beginning at 10:30 a.m.
Minister of Home Affairs and Information, Wilfred Abrahams, will deliver the feature address, while co-chairs of the TSCCH, Director of the Department of Emergency Management (DEM), Kerry Hinds, and Director of the Coastal Zone Management Unit, Dr. Leo Brewster, will deliver remarks. Deputy Director of the Barbados Meteorological Services, Brian Murray, will also deliver remarks.
At the ceremony, there will be a cultural presentation by the Haynesville Youth Club, and a DEM booth, showcasing video presentations on Tsunami Ready projects in St. James Central and Christ Church West.
A social media campaign will run throughout the month on television, radio, and DEM’s social media pages to share messages relating to the various coastal hazards, earthquakes, tsunamis, coastal erosion and storm surge.
Trivia Tuesdays will be hosted on March 4, 11, 18, and 25 on DEM’s Instagram and Facebook pages. Questions will be asked in the morning about the various coastal hazards in the form of “This or That” and the answers posted in the evening. Winners will be chosen at random.
National Earthquake Preparedness Day will be held on Friday, March 7, at 10:00 a.m., when persons will be asked to activate an alert signal to start the earthquake drill procedures – ‘drop, cover, and hold on’.
This activity is designed to increase awareness about earthquake hazards and test the earthquake procedures of participating organisations.
On Saturday, March 8, the St. Michael North-West District Emergency Organisation will launch its Coast-to-Land: Adopt-a-Hazard community project and Tsunami Ready Initiative 2025, at the Grace Bible Church, Bird’s River, Deacons, St. Michael, beginning at 10:00 a.m.
Ms. Hinds and Dr. Brewster are expected to address the opening ceremony at this event.
On Wednesday, March 12, there will be a lunchtime panel discussion on Empowering Communities to Take Charge of Their Own Resilience, at the Barbados Light and Power’s Christie Conference Room, Garrison, St. Michael, from 10:00 a.m. to noon.
The annual Caribe Wave Exercise will come off on Thursday, March 20, from 11:00 a.m., across northern areas and communities. This exercise is designed to increase earthquake and tsunami preparedness and test procedures in businesses and schools across Barbados to improve emergency coordination and response.
Then on Sunday, March 23, the annual Run Tsunami Run 5K Walk and Run will kick off from Dina’s Bar in Hill Crest, Bathsheba, St. Joseph, at 3:00 p.m. (PR/GIS)