Monday, April 29, 2019

ARE WE CONDEMNED TO BE A CARIBBEAN LAUGHING STOCK?


-->
ARE WE CONDEMNED TO BE A CARIBBEAN LAUGHING STOCK?

(Sommes nous condamnés à être la risée des Caraïbes?)

At a time when all our neighbouring Caribbean islands are giving serious concern to the potential of tsunami catastrophes, many already recognized as “Tsunami Ready” and others in process of being, 

France is blindfolding St-Martin and its other Caribbean possessions from these real major sea waves threats by arbitrarily, enforcing on the people a called PPRN (Plan Prévention Risques Naturels) based only on seashores inundations recorded after September 06th 2017 Hurricane Irma by appointed inundation experts of a France based centre of risks by the appellation CEREMA.

This PPRN is exclusively limited to declaring 50 meters inland from sea foreshores as uninhabitable areas and as solution the expropriation of the inhabitants of the concerned areas.

To have an idea of the outrageousness of this French governmental land appropriation scam let us compare this PPRN to our nearest neighbour Island, Anguilla Tsunami ready plan.

Anguilla is recognized as “Tsunami ready” since December 2011 by the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organization) Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), that sets out the guidelines and commitments to meet for attribution of the title

While France solution to hurricane occasional sea surge and with only solution the expropriation of the inhabitants, Anguilla “Tsunami ready” recognition is centered on the Island government commitment to the IOC guidelines, tsunami warning recommendations and the island participation in Caribe Wave Annual Tsunami Regional Exercises.

We find in Anguilla the carry out by the government of an effective educational awareness and preparedness programs such as:
  • Creation of a government Department of Disaster Management
  • Concluding tsunami warning programs and assistance agreement with, UNESCO “IOC”, the Caribbean Tsunami Warning Center (CTWC), the US National Weather Service Puerto-Rico based Caribbean Tsunami Warning Program (CTWP), the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
  • Carrying out of tsunami awareness educational and readiness programs
  • Carrying out of informative programs in behalf of senior and children so that they know exactly what to do in the event of a tsunami alert
  • Posting through the Island of educational billboards and evacuation maps and signs
  • Putting in place siren system to complement Radio/ TV alerts
  • Preparation of evacuation sites
  • Publication of Anguilla Tsunami Warning Protocols
  • Publication of a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)
  • Participation in Caribe Wave annual tsunami exercises
WHAT IS CARIBE WAVE ANNUAL TSUNAMI REGIONAL EXERCISES?

Since 2005 UNESCO 'IOC” and international coordination groups for Tsunami and other Coastal Hazards for the Caribbean (National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration/NOAA, Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency/CDEMA), organize Annual Tsunami Regional Exercises under the appellation: Caribe Wave.

48 Caribbean countries and territories participate in these Tsunami Regional Exercises of which St-Martin, St-Barth, Guadeloupe and Martinique,are supposed to be members participants, under  France coordination administration EMIZA
(Etat-Major Interministériel de la Zone de Défense et de Sécurité Antilles)

Dutch Sint-Maarten is also supposed to be a member participant of CARIBE WAVE

The purpose of these exercises is to advance Tsunami preparedness efforts in the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions and to test the effectiveness of the tsunami and other coastal hazards early warning system in place in each country or Territory, under the auspice of UNESCO's
IOC

Each of the 48 countries & Territories members decides on their level of participation and coordinates the corresponding activities within their jurisdiction.
Caribe Wave annual Tsunami Regional exercises for 2019 was held on March 14th 2019.

And all that France have presented to the people of St-Martin during same time is this PPRN on the expropriation of inhabitants on an area of 50 meters inland from sea foreshores as prevention from hurricane sea surge risks.

WHY SUCH A TSUNAMI PREPAREDNESS PROGRAM?

Experts and research officers such as from the Puerto-Rico based Caribbean Tsunami Warning program under the US National Weather Service or from the Risk Management Solution (RMS) the world's leading catastrophes risk modeling consultancy, have issued warning that the caribbean is clearly a place where both regional and local types of tsunami can be anticipated.

They have issued warning that the potential for tsunami in the Caribbean is significant and has to be taken seriously. They warn : "Complacency kills"

Areas along the North-Eastern and Eastern boundaries of the Caribbean where the North America and South America plates interact with the Caribbean plates and where one plate is forced under an other are potentially prone to really large earthquakes which would be associated with major regional tsunami.


Within the Caribbean and bordering the Caribbean there are major fault structures that could be capable of producing earthquakes of magnitudes 8.6 and 9.0 and also volcanoes that could generate both regional or local tsunami at any time .

Since 1842, 75 Tsunamis have occurred in the Caribbean, claiming over 3500 human lives, according to US National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration.

We may be reminded of:

- Year 1692 earthquake tsunami sank most of Jamaica pirate city,
- Year1867 offshore earthquake triggered tsunami waves claimed lives in the Us Virgin Islands, Puerto-Rico and Guadeloupe.
- Year 1918 Puerto-Rico earthquake tsunami, 116 killed
-Year 1946 an earthquake of 8.1 magnitude struck the Island of Hispaniola (Dominican Republic/Haiti) and claimed over 1600 lives.
- Year 1991 earthquake generated tsunami in Panama and Costa Rica.
-Year 2010 earthquake subsea landslide generated tsunami waves in Haiti

Since 2005, the password referring to tsunami risks in the Caribbean is : “COMPLACENCY KILLS, GEAR UP FOR TSUNAMI”.

France in spite of being a member participant of Caribe Wave, is holding as state secret from the concerned population, all questions relating to tsunami risks threatening its Caribbean possessions.

Two cyclones seasons after cyclone Irma of September 2017, France is still keeping our consciousness solely on the eventuality of an Irma.2 hurricane as only major sea waves threats


.

Likely what more effective manner for a colonizing government to finalize its genocidal by substitution policy perpetrated for decades against an indigenous people than to let them be flood away by tsunami waves ?