St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago, W.I. –January 7th, 2005 – The recent tsunami in Asia has caused widespread concern over the Caribbean’s vulnerability to tsunamis. While it is possible for the region to be hit by a tsunami such as the one recently experienced in Asia, scientists currently believe that there is a very low probability of this phenomenon occurring in the Caribbean. Additionally, questions have been raised as to the threat of a tsunami from an eruption of the Kick ‘em Jenny submarine volcano which is located north of Grenada.
Currently, the threat of a tsunami from an eruption of the volcano is extremely low since a recent (2003) survey revealed that the summit of the volcano is quite deep. There has been no unusual activity at the volcano and the alert level remains at yellow, which is normal for Kick ‘em Jenny. At the moment, Kick ‘em Jenny poses a grave danger to shipping as the volcano is constantly emitting gases, which reduces the water density and can cause vessels to sink. For this reason there is a 1.5km exclusion zone around the summit of the volcano.
For updates on these and other geologic events occurring in the region please visit the Seismic Research Unit’s website at www.uwiseismic.com. Based at the University of the West Indies in St. Augustine Trinidad, the Seismic Research Unit is the agency responsible for monitoring earthquakes and volcanoes throughout the English-speaking Eastern Caribbean as well as the Dutch islands of Saba, St. Eustatius and St. Martin.
