Earthquake and Volcanic Hazards in the Caribbean

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Earthquake and Volcanic Hazards in the Caribbean

If one took this statement to mean in recent times, it would not be

fair to make such a statement as Caribbean people have not had to deal

with earthquake hazards as they have the volcanic hazards; and one

can’t say they find it difficult to respond to the earthquake hazards.

The five major natural hazards that threaten the Caribbean are

hurricanes, floods, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and tsunamis,

with earthquakes being the least common, especially in modern times.

Volcanoes and earthquakes have caused the most serious disasters,

causing immense loss of life and economic disruption to Caribbean

countries in the past. Volcanoes and earthquakes occur worldwide and

wreak havoc on many countries. Some countries are able to deal with

these two events better than others. It has been said that ‘Caribbean

people have found it more difficult to respond effectively to

earthquake hazards than to those posed by volcanic activity’. I am in

complete agreement with this statement for many reasons, taking it to

mean historically, Caribbean people have not been able to effectively

respond.

There are approximately 16 volcanoes in the Caribbean, a few of the

best-known ones being: Mount Pelee in Martinique, Kick ‘em Jenny off

the coast of Grenada, Langs Soufriere in Montserrat, and Soufriere in

St. Vincent. In the Caribbean today, volcanic activity takes place

very often, particularly in some of the extremely active volcanoes

such as Langs Soufriere in Montserrat. Compared to the high occurrence

of volcanic activity in the Caribbean, earthquake activity is quite

limited. In recent history, very few major earthquakes took place. The

most notable are ones are those that took place in Tobago in 1977,

which reached 5.6 on the Richter scale, and one in Jamaica in 1993,

which hit 5.4 on the Richter scale. The one in Jamaica showed up all

structural faults in the buildings, and because the epicentre was on

the island itself, as opposed to in the sea as expected, made it

worse. Other than the ‘minor’ earthquakes mentioned above, only two

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