Complacency kills: Caribbean gears up for tsunamis
Complacency kills: Caribbean gears up for tsunamis
By Philippa Fogarty
Kingston, Jamaica
8 December 2018
The last time a major tsunami hit the Caribbean region was in 1946, after an 8.1-magnitude earthquake struck the Dominican Republic on the island of Hispaniola.
At Playa Rincón, the sea rushed 700m (2,300ft) inland, according to a man who clung to the top of an almond tree to survive. Waves were 5m high in places and 1,600 people died across the north-east coast. Small tsunami waves were also recorded in Puerto Rico, Bermuda and even New Jersey.
Since then, a handful of tsunamis have occurred - in Panama and Costa Rica in 1991 after an earthquake, and in Montserrat in 1997 after a landslide of volcanic debris. After the devastating earthquake in Haiti in 2010, sub-sea landslides generated waves that killed three people.
Over the same period, populations have more than doubled and tourist numbers on Caribbean beaches have soared, passing 30 million in 2017. In most places, infrastructure is concentrated in coastal areas.
More:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-46356998
Environment & Energy:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1127121989