Opposition criticises Jamaica’s response to tsunami concern following major quake in Caribbean Sea

The Opposition is criticising Jamaica’s emergency response system in light of Saturday’s major earthquake in the Caribbean Sea and subsequent concerns about possible tsunami waves affecting several countries, including Jamaica.

Opposition Spokesperson on Local Government, Natalie Neita Garvey, is suggesting that the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) and the Ministry of Local Government were tardy in warning Jamaicans about the situation.

The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDEMA) reported that the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre (PTWC) indicated an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.6 occurred north of Honduras at 7:23 PM AST on Saturday, February 8.

Initial data suggested that, based on preliminary earthquake parameters, hazardous tsunami waves were possible for coastal areas within 1,000 kilometres of the earthquake’s epicentre.

A potential tsunami threat was initially forecast for 20 countries, including seven CDEMA Participating States, among them Jamaica.

Within 12 minutes, this forecast was revised to 13 countries, still including Jamaica.

Neita Garvey says that during this period, Jamaicans did not receive any communication from the government or the responsible agency.

More than three hours later, ODPEM issued a statement informing the public that although Jamaica was under an advisory for a possible tsunami wave, no tsunami warning was ever issued for the country, with the main areas of concern were Honduras and the Cayman Islands.

The agency noted that the authority responsible for issuing a tsunami warning for Jamaica is ODPEM, in conjunction with the Meteorological Service of Jamaica and supported by the Jamaica Constabulary Force, following an assessment of data provided by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre.

It stated that notifications were sent to the National Tsunami Response Team and the Parish Response Mechanism.

An all-clear bulletin was later issued for the region as the tsunami threat passed.

However, the Opposition is suggesting that ODPEM’s response was insufficient.

Neita Garvey asserts that had a tsunami occurred, it would have resulted in a disaster of catastrophic proportions, as no bulletin was issued to warn the population, nor were any instructions provided on how to respond—except for a release issued more than three hours later.

The Opposition considers this a gross dereliction of duty and an extremely irresponsible failure by the Ministry of Local Government and ODPEM.

Neita Garvey is calling for an urgent review of the country’s disaster alert and warning systems to ensure they are fully functional and supported by adequate response mechanisms, expertise, and funding.

She described the Ministry’s and ODPEM’s performance as "scary" and demanded that the Minister, as the accountable officer, immediately provide the nation with a credible explanation.

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