There is no comprehensive, regional Caribbean tsunami warning system which serves the entire Caribbean basin. If an earthquake occurs that can or has triggered a tsunami that may affect the Caribbean, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) will send a bulletin to Tsunami Warning Focal Points – the official agency responsible for receipt of the warning message in each Caribbean country. Communicating this warning to the general public is the responsibility of the national disaster management agency in each country.
NOAA’s Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issues bulletins to Tsunami Warning Focal Points in the Caribbean.
Following the 26th December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami which led to the loss of at least 250,000 lives, there has been a global effort to establish a programme for reducing the risk to various coastal hazards. This effort has been coordinated primarily by the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC).
The ICG/CARIBE EWS, a sub-commission of the IOC, is a key player in a multi-national, multi-agency initiative to mitigate the impact of tsunamis and other coastal hazards in the Caribbean and adjacent regions (Central and South American countries along the Caribbean Basin). The Seismic Research Centre has been an active contributor to this sub-commission since its inception. Beginning in 2011, the ICG/CARIBE EWS has also coordinated a regional tsunami exercise, CARIBE WAVE the tsunami preparedness calendar within the Caribbean and its adjacent regions.
Related Resources
Tsunami Warning & Information Bulletins for the Caribbean (CTIC)
