We need early tsunami warning instruments, says NEMO Director
Over the weekend, a 7.6 magnitude earthquake, listed as a “major” earthquake that could have caused serious damage over larger areas, struck in the Caribbean Sea north of Honduras, near the Cayman Islands.
But while the remote Saturday, February, 8, 2025 event caused no damage or injuries, Director of the National Emergency Management Organisation (NEMO) Michelle Forbes said St Vincent and the Grenadines only received tsunami warning threats 90 minutes after the event, a clear sign that SVG and the region need more instrumentation.
“We were alarmed…,” Director Forbes said at the opening of a three-day National After-Action Review (AAR) forum which was being held at the Holiday Day Inn and Suites in Diamond on Monday, February 10,2025 to assess the country’s overall response to Hurricane Beryl.
She said that alerts coming in from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre, indicated, most likely, based on the various scientific scenarios and models, that tsunami waves were generated.
“But from where I sat, it was rather troubling…because it took us almost 90 minutes to get an indication that a tsunami wave generated and that was basically off the coast of Mexico.
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