On March 11, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO held its annual tsunami preparedness exercise, Caribe Wave 2022. The purpose of this Caribbean-wide exercise is to validate warning protocols and advance tsunami preparedness efforts in the Caribbean and surrounding regions. 32 states and 16 territories in the Caribbean Basin took part in this year’s exercise.

For the French Red Cross in Guadeloupe, it was an opportunity to test the communication and dissemination chain of the tsunami alert: reception of the messages issued by the prefecture (National Tsunami Warning Center) and then its transmission within the French Red Cross response system: activation of emergency coordination mechanisms until the information of the teams involved in case of a disaster that could affect the communities of the territory

According to Sendy Veerabadren, Head of Delegation of PIRAC: “Tsunamis are a rare phenomenon in the Caribbean, which is why their knowledge by the populations and the levels of preparation are often too low. However, the risk is real, especially because the Caribbean is located in a high seismic risk area. Tsunamis can be devastating and deadly, which is why we must prepare in coordination with regional and national authorities, and in support of communities, especially those living near the coastline.

Within the framework of its programs, PIRAC supports Caribbean populations to better understand the tsunami risk, reduce it and prepare for their occurrence. In Guadeloupe, for example, PIRAC implements the Paré pa Paré project, in collaboration with research, technical, institutional and operational actors, in order to help school children and the general public to reduce their vulnerability to natural hazards, in particular the tsunami risk.