09 January 2006 Attendees will determine risk assessment, data collection actions, UNESCO says The first meeting of the Intergovernmental Coordination Group (ICG) for the tsunami warning system for the Caribbean and nearby regions will be held in Bridgetown, Barbados, January 10-12. Representatives of 30 countries, including the United States, will take part in the ICG meeting, the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) announced in a January 5 press release. Participants will determine a plan of action for risk assessment, data collection and sharing and emergency management. They also will review progress in implementing warning systems elsewhere in the world, UNESCO said. Such a system will be a component of the Global Strategy for the Establishment of a Tsunami Early Warning System, which is being implemented in the Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean, Northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean. Ten major tsunamis have been recorded in the northern Caribbean since 1492. The most recent, in 1946, claimed 1,800 lives. Thirty-five million people live in the region. For additional information, see U.S. Response to Tsunami. Text of the UNESCO press release follows: (begin text) U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization [Paris, France] Establishment of a Tsunami warning system for the Caribbean 05-01-2006 4:00 pm The first meeting of the Intergovernmental Coordination Group (ICG) for the Tsunami and Other Coastal Hazards Warning System for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions will be held in Bridgetown (Barbados) from 10 to 12 January. The establishment of the system is a landmark in the Global Strategy for the Establishment of a Tsunami Early Warning System, which is being implemented in the Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean, Northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean. UNESCO initiated the Strategy in the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami of 26 December 2004. About ten major tsunamis have been recorded in the northern Caribbean since the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492. The most recent, in 1946, claimed 1,800 lives. It was triggered by an earthquake in the Dominican Republic. Recent studies point to risks linked to shifts in the North America and Caribbean tectonic plates and to major undersea landslides off the northern shore of Porto Rico. There are 35 million inhabitants in the region. Representatives of the 30 countries concerned will take part in the ICG meeting, which follows the International Conference for the Development of a Tsunami and Coastal Hazards Warning System for the Caribbean Sea and Adjacent Regions (Mexico City, 1–3 June 2005). The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, will open the meeting, which is organized by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR). Participants will determine, among other things, a plan of action for risk assessment, collection and sharing of data, and emergency management. They will also review the progress in implementing warning systems in other parts of the world. (end text) (Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)30 Nations To Plan Tsunami Warning System for Caribbean
Press release, January 5, 2006