MEDIA RELEASE

CARIBE WAVE 2023 NATIONAL TSUNAMI EXERCISE

Today, Thursday 23^rd March, 2023, the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) participated in the annual CARIBE WAVE Tsunami Exercise for the Caribbean Region. The exercise tested the effectiveness of Trinidad and Tobago’s Tsunami Warning System, as well as those of the rest of the Caribbean and adjacent regions. It also tested the Disaster Response Plans of various regional agencies in the event of a tsunami threat.

This exercise also provided an opportunity for local disaster risk management stakeholders to exercise and improve their Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) at various levels, inclusive of operational lines of communication.

The ODPM coordinated the exercise’s activities with the various agencies responsible for responding to the possibility of a tsunami from the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) at its head office in Tacarigua. During the exercise, the NEOC was activated at 10:33a.m., and stakeholders were immediately alerted using the national alerting system.

In attendance were representatives from various Divisions of the Ministry of National Security, the Disaster Management Units (DMUs) of the Ministry of Rural Development and Local Government, the Ministry of Works and Transport, the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries, the Tobago Emergency Management Agency (TEMA), WASA, TSTT, T&TEC, Trinidad and Tobago Emergency Mutual Aid Scheme (TTEMAS), Global Medical Response of Trinidad & Tobago (GMRTT), Heritage Petroleum, EOG Resources, Woodside Energy, Caribbean Gas Chemical Limited (CGCL), Methanex Trinidad Limited, and the Point Lisas Industrial Port Development Corporation Ltd. (PLIPDECO).

The ODPM reiterates that Trinidad and Tobago is NOT currently under imminent threat of a tsunami, but would like to remind the public of the natural warning signs of a Tsunami, which include:

• Intense earthquakes
• A loud roar (like an airplane) from the ocean
• A fast rising flood of water coming inland from the ocean or a wall of water moving rapidly inland
• Seawater suddenly receding, showing the ocean floor, reefs and fish, similar to a very low tide

If these warning signs are observed, please alert others around you and immediately proceed at least 2 kilometres inland and to higher ground.

Photos and Captions

Caption 1: ODPM coordination of the CARIBE WAVE Exercise 2023 at the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC).

Caption 2: Evacuation drill protocol of the Chaguaramas Development Authority (CDA), conducted by the Diego Martin Regional Corporation’s Disaster Management Unit and observed by ODPM Staff.

Caption 3: ODPM staff conducting an immediate review of the exercise to facilitate improvement of overall coordination and response.

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Issued by:

Public Information, Education and Community Outreach Unit

For further information, please call:

ODPM’s Customer Call Centre 800-6376/ 640-1285

 TEMA’s Hotline 211

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