Capacity of Earthquake Unit Boosted by Support from DVRP

Support received under the Disaster Vulnerability Reduction Project (DVRP) has significantly boosted the capacity of the Earthquake Unit (EQU) to carry out its functions.

The project, which began in 2016, is being implemented by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF), through funding from the World Bank.

It is aimed at supporting the Government of Jamaica in disaster risk management in the wider context of sustainable development and is expected to come to an end in May 2024.

Speaking at a recent Jamaica Information Service (JIS) Think Tank, at the agency’s head office in Kingston, Network Manager/Engineer at the EQU, Paul Williams, said the Unit is tasked with ensuring that all seismic activity that occurs in Jamaica is recorded to the desired standard.

He noted that prior to 2016, the EQU had mostly analogue stations, resulting in limitations in recording earthquakes of a certain magnitude.

“We had to improve on the recording, because when we have data that are clipped, those can be used to produce bulletin but cannot be used for research. So, thanks to JSIF, they provided support, where we were able to acquire the desired equipment,” said Mr. Williams.

He informed that there are 14 broadband stations distributed across the island, 10 of which were provided by JSIF.

“They also gave a good boost to our accelerograph network, where they bought 30 accelerographs. We were able to instal these at hospitals and schools across the island,” Mr. Williams added.

He noted that with Jamaica being prone to earthquakes, it is important to have these instruments distributed across the island to enable the EQU “to tell you the level of shaking” in your area.

The EQU depends on respondents to generate intensity reports; however, the intention is to have shake maps with data originating from the accelerographs.

In acknowledging that more of these instruments are still needed, even with the boost from JSIF, the Network Manager/Engineer is pleased with all the Unit can do with the 40 accelerographs it has at locations islandwide.

“We are now able to produce peak ground velocity, peak ground acceleration from these stronger earthquakes and we are also able to better record larger earthquakes on scale, whereas before we would not be able to have good data for stronger earthquakes,” he said.

Mr. Williams pointed out that another challenge the EQU faced was its data being affected by noise signals, and as such, through the intervention under the DVRP, seven vaults were built.

This, he said, resulted in a quieter environment and better signals being recorded.

“We also had an issue with damage to equipment from lightning strikes and [JSIF] also provided support in terms of building and installing better grounding and lightning systems,” he noted.

The EQU also received solar energy “to power” all the equipment that JSIF provided as well as benefited from an upgrade to an old solar-power system.

“[It] came to our aid in the last earthquake, where we had lost power for the entire day and we were able to function because of the upgraded power system,” Mr. Williams shared.

They also received data radios, which enabled them to log into the new equipment for data.

“So, the seismic event is recorded at the remote station and simultaneously transmitted to the University of the West Indies (UWI) where we were able to provide the bulletin as needed,” said Mr. Williams.

The EQU is a Research Unit at the UWI, Mona Campus. The Unit serves as Jamaica’s hub for earthquake monitoring and seismic research.

For his part, Managing Director, JSIF, Omar Sweeney, said that the DVRP has been working successfully.

“We believe the project certainly has worked in a very integrated way. Our other partners, like the National Works Agency and the Jamaica Fire Brigade, are also benefiting from how the project has been designed,” he said.

The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) and the Bureau of Standards Jamaica (BSJ) are also beneficiaries.

Highlighting that Jamaica is an extremely vulnerable country, Mr. Sweeney pointed out that the Government has put in place a state-of-the-art resilient, climate finance model, which includes the catastrophe bonds, the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) and the country’s own reserves.

“But then, the tangible actions now on the ground that are going to improve our resilience, such as making sure our building code and our practitioners are trained, the way that the seismic unit is now brought up to international standards, the way that ODPEM and the National Spatial Data Management Branch (NSDMB) will have a platform in which all users of data locally and internationally will have access, I think is really cutting edge for our country and certainly in our region,” he added.