Remember an earthquake of magnitude 7.7 – the Cayman compass

January started like any other day in the Caymans – warm sunshine, calm waves on Seven Mile Beach and cool breeze.

However, midway through Tuesday, January 28, 2020, that serenity was broken by a jolt as all three islands were jolted by a 7.7 magnitude earthquake.

“This is a really big thing for Cayman because I think a lot of us … hadn’t realized a lot of people that earthquakes of this magnitude were likely and we haven’t had anything really dramatic since 2004, Christmas [earthquake] Cayman Islands director of risk management, Daniel Coleman, said in an interview with Cayman Compass,

She noted that the major earthquake was followed by 23 aftershocks over the next few weeks, and it came as a wake-up call to many, especially those in HMCI, where the public’s response to the earthquake was a concern.

We try to work very closely with schools and parents to make sure people don’t get in their cars. First, first responders cannot physically move through traffic. It’s very difficult … so not only can they respond to the emergency at hand, but you are also putting yourself at great risk. The traffic problem was a big problem, “she said.

The US Geological Survey said the quake, which originated at a depth of six miles and lasted about two minutes, was felt by residents of Cayman, Jamaica and Cuba.

A tsunami threat message was released by the US National Weather Service, and police and the government in Cayman issued warnings to residents to stay away from the coast.

A “small tsunami” 1.5 feet high was recorded in Georgetown Harbor.

While the earthquake caused minimal damage to buildings, a number of sewers appeared on the three islands, most of them on Grand Cayman. Gaps have been reported in Seven Mile Public Beach, the Health Services Authority parking lot, Cricket Square and North Side, and pipelines across Grand Cayman have been damaged, leaving many homes without water, for several days in some cases.

While the infrastructure and buildings in Cayman have withstood the shock, Simon Boxall, deputy director of HMCI, said this should not be taken for granted.

“The belief that our buildings are capable of withstanding any type of earthquake is not really the case,” Boxal said.

Boxall said that its risk management and mitigation team, in particular, are continuing to consider risk assessment and risk analysis, and are assisting the UK government with its underwater bathymetric survey. He said this survey will eventually help produce storm maps as well as tsunami models that will be more accurate.

“Ultimately we will be able to provide people with advanced tornado storm information, which will potentially save many lives if we know how high it will be. [be] Before the actual hurricane comes ashore, “he said, adding that the same can be done with a tsunami.”

He said the Cayman Islands should continue to increase its risk assessment and analysis in order to get a better understanding of how people need to prepare for these types of events. “ In the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, there was some talk of doing more and he said a large-scale geological study of the Cayman Islands, but noted that when the coronavirus pandemic struck, attention shifted to COVID-19.

While geological study is not entirely far from the radar, it is not the priority at the moment.

The key to awareness and preparation

Addressing lawmakers in Parliament after the earthquake last year, Prime Minister Alden McLaughlin said he was “haunted” by stretches of traffic that he saw from his office. If the Tsumani had been hit or things got worse, he said, many lives would have been lost because people were trapped in their cars.

This image also continues to plague Coleman and her team, who have all worked to upgrade Cayman’s detection and evaluation tools, response policies, and develop public awareness campaigns on emergency response.

Coleman noted that there are many potential risks that people need to be aware of, stressing that the idea is not fear but a willingness “to enable ourselves to know what to do in the event of any of these emergencies. The more knowledge you have, the more knowledge you share.” … as a family unit, as a school, as a company, the better [you will be able] To answer. “

HMCI will launch a public awareness campaign in the coming days to reinforce the earthquake preparedness message, and is working with schools and government agencies to develop earthquake response plans.

Coleman said that since last year’s earthquake, Boxall has given presentations in more than 40 classrooms as well as giving a speech at parent-teacher association meetings.

Reflecting on the events of the January 28 earthquake, Boxall said, “I think we need to do a better job of reassuring parents that the schools already have plans that have been tested. They have crowd sites, they look at issues – like if there is an upcoming tsunami, what do they do? Ahead with it. “

He said Cayman has done well in terms of hurricane awareness, but there is more to do with other natural disasters, adding, “We need to try to reach more people and make sure our message reaches everyone.”

Before the 2020 earthquake, a 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck Cayman on December 14, 2004, just three months after it was destroyed by Hurricane Evan.

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