Insurance boss hopes Jamaica learns from Japan quake

The lesson that Jamaica can draw from the 8.9-magnitude Tohoku Earthquake in Japan on March 11, is that careful planning and application of resources can save lives, said Chris Hind, general manager of NEM Insurance Company.

On the Richter scale, the Tohoku earthquake was 100 times stronger than the 7.0 magnitude quake Haiti experienced last year January. Despite this, the death toll in Japan is expected to reach into the thousands, while that in Haiti rose into the hundreds of thousands.

"Japan is probably the world's most earthquake-prepared country," Hind said. "Over decades, they have developed the expertise and built the infrastructure to withstand a major earthquake disaster."

The Tohoku earthquake was the fourth strongest in the world since 1900, and the strongest in Japan since modern instrumental recordings began 130 years ago, the US Geological Survey reported.

Its strongest aftershock was a magnitude 7.2, which was greater than the primary shock Haiti experienced.

major problems

"The quake and subsequent tsunami were then followed by major problems with their nuclear reactors," the insurance boss indicated.

"While the losses are enormous, it is clear that without good preparation, things would have been far worse," he indicated. Japan is one of the world's wealthiest countries, but effective disaster preparation takes more than money, he said.

"As a general insurer, I was particularly impressed by the videos of many major buildings swaying during the quake," he declared. "This may have appeared frightening to the uninitiated, but it actually meant that they were functioning to their design."

Japan shifted its building code to focus on earthquake resistance in 1981 and has been improving it ever since. Hind said Jamaica has been improving its own building code for more than two decades; however, a comprehensive building act should be promulgated in Parliament, to ensure that the codes can be adequately enforced with the enactment of new legislation.

The Japanese have also placed great emphasis on preparing its population for a disaster. Evacuation drills are an integral part of school life, and the entire population has been inculcated as to how citizens should respond during an earthquake.

"Perhaps the most impressive feature of the unfolding events has been the lack of drama among the various agencies involved," Hind said. "Avoiding turf wars in an emergency speaks to proper preparation, which saves lives."

"Jamaica has an excellent disaster response capability; however, it is optimised for more common threats such, as hurricanes," Hind said. "Major earthquakes are far less frequent, but they can be far more destructive; therefore, we need to ensure that we are prepared."

As part of its own earthquake preparations, NEM Insurance has commissioned Mona GeoInformatics Institute and the Earthquake Unit at The University of the West Indies to conduct an earthquake simulation exercise, Hind indicated. He said this was to determine whether the company has the reinsurance coverage to cope with a 7.0 magnitude earthquake, similar to the one which struck Haiti last January.

"The simulation revealed that the entire island would experience some level of shaking, with more than 75 per cent serious enough to cause structural damage in some buildings," the report indicated. Hind pointed out that the company's reinsurance provisions with overseas providers would adequately cope with such a disaster, as well as a second catastrophe in the same year.