With the death toll from the weekend tsunamis in Asia topping 55,000, many island nations, like The Bahamas, have been left to wonder whether such an occurrence could happen elsewhere.
Carl Smith, director of the National Emergency Management Agency, admitted yesterday that The Bahamas government is interested in knowing whether such a natural disaster could ever be possible in this region.
Robert Weisberg, professor of physical oceanography at the University of South Florida, said in a Florida press report yesterday that Floridaﾴs greatest risk for tsunami occurrence emanates from the Puerto Trench, however ﾓisland massesﾒ like The Bahamas lay directly in its path.
ﾓIf something did happen in the Caribbean, there are things in the way ﾖ The Bahamas. The effects weﾴd feel would be tempered by the fact that we have other land masses in the way,ﾒ he told news-press.com.
But he indicated that such an occurrence is highly unlikely.
Although The Bahamas is located in a benign region with respect to tsunamis, earthquakes do happen in the Caribbean Sea.
Tsunami, which is Japanese for harbor wave, are caused by undersea tectonic activity triggered by earthquakes, submarine volcanic eruptions, and submarine landslides.
Dr. Margaret Wiggins-Grandison, seismologist and head of the Earthquake Unit at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, told the Bahama Journal yesterday that it is possible for The Bahamas to experience a tsunami, but the likelihood is not that great.
ﾓAn island in the Pacific would have a greater probability of impact because of the nature of the continental boundaries in the Atlantic when it is compared to the continental boundaries in the Pacific,ﾒ she said.
In 1755 there was a massive earthquake off the coast of Portugal and a tsunami reached as far as the Caribbean.
ﾓHowever, the tsunami was not as devastating upon arrival in the Caribbean. Barbados experienced waves as high as four feet,ﾒ Dr. Wiggins-Grandison said.
She explained that earthquakes are the primary triggers, generating the largest tsunamis.
ﾓThis is because displacement of the sea floor vertically occurs with great force during earthquakes,ﾒ Dr. Wiggins-Grandison said.
She said in the event of a sizable tsunami there would be no recourse for The Bahamas. This is because many Bahamian islands are just above sea level with no mountains or high ground to escape, she said.
Dr. Wiggins-Grandison added that The Bahamas would experience total destruction at a level never witnessed here before.
It would no doubt catch Bahamians by surprise as it did hundreds of thousands of people in Asia and parts of Africa.
Ravi Jesubatham, a native of Sri Lanka who lives in The Bahamas, said that tsunamis were unheard off in Sri Lanka because the country usually experiences only natural disasters like small mudslides.
ﾓI was surprised at first mention of this disaster because in Sri Lanka we do not get earthquakes, tornadoes or hurricanes ﾖ in fact we do not experience any large scale natural disaster,ﾒ he said.
ﾓI have not heard of any losses in my family, only injuries like my cousin, her husband, and son were injured badly while attending a weeding. In my opinion there are two major concerns in Sri Lanka which include the health of the people who are unaware of how to handle natural disasters, and what effects the tsunami will have on the recently rebounding tourism sector in Sri Lanka.ﾒ
Mr. Jesubatham reminded Bahamians that a small contribution from a small island nation would go a long way in Sri Lanka because of the difference in currency. He said that Bahamians should be mindful that natural disasters can occur anywhere at anytime without warning.
Perez Clarke, The Bahama Journal
