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Earth Today | Earthquakes take spotlight at UWI today

Published:Wednesday | September 26, 2018 | 12:00 AM
AP
In this August 10 photo, motorists ride past buildings ruined by the August 5 earthquake in Pamenang, Lombok Island, Indonesia. The north of the popular resort island was devastated by the quake, damaging thousands of buildings and killing a large number of people.

WITH A number of earthquakes felt in Jamaica in recent weeks and others rocking elsewhere in the globe this year, tremors are today the subject of a free public forum being staged at the University of the West Indies, Mona.

Hosted by the Department of Geography and Geology, and the Earthquake Unit, the session is made possible courtesy of the Science for Today series, an initiative of the Faculty of Science and Technology intended to bring science alive for the public while informing advocacy actions and policy decisions.

"This is the first in the series. A number of the big issues in our country have a strong science component, and an understanding of the science could help in understanding the issues. We are going to try to add that dimension to the national discourse. The earthquake is the first one," said Professor Michael Taylor, dean of the Faculty of Science and Technology.

"We want to expose that the resources to discuss the science portion of the issues exist, whether at the university or outside, and hope that the advocacy will come out of it. Once you have the knowledge, then you can inform advocacy and policy, and action at the national level can result," he noted.

Today's forum, which begins at 5:30 p.m., will address the topic 'Ready for the Big one? What you should know about Earthquakes and Jamaica'.

Panellists are to include Major Clive Davis, head of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management; Professor Simon Mitchell, head of the Department of Geography and Geology and the Earthquake Unit; and Dr Nicolas McMorris, civil engineer, Faculty of Engineering, UWI.

Jamaica has a history of destructive earthquakes, including the event of 1692, which destroyed Port Royal, and another in 1907 that claimed 1,000 lives. It also shares the Enriquillo Plantain Garden Fault, which erupted to cause the devastating event in Haiti in 2010 and is subject to some 200 or so tremors each year.

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