TREMORS; RUMOURS OF TSUNAMIS and the rumblings of Kick ’em Jenny; these are frightening times indeed.
While I would only dare to speak for myself, I get the sense that many Bajans are perhaps in the same boat. I certainly did not have a good sense about what I should actually do should either of these eventualities come to pass.
My only plan was, and still is, to pray and gather up my family’s georgie bundle and wait for some instructions from the Lord. it would appear that at this point he is the only source that I can count on to get good and clear instructions.
After all the years of singular focus on flooding and hurricane preparedness all of a sudden it would appear we are now faced with these new elements for which major education in my view seems lacking.
I have heard stories of mass confusion and panic in the wake of the first reported tremors last week, people assembling to stand underneath the buildings they had just evacuated, people jumping in cars to race wherever and gridlock on cellphone and landlines. I heard of one case where an order was given to evacuate, but people still took time to clear their desks, pack their bags and take lunch out of the fridge.
There seems to be no clear protocols for government departments, businesses and even summer camps which are happening all over the place. Perhaps I should be fair and say rather that the protocol needs revisiting to ensure that it remains relevant and communicates the necessary information.
Who checks to make sure that summer camp officials have the necessary procedures in place? At what point or at what level of an earthquake should businesses and departments close? At what point should I stay in the building between the door jams as opposed to running outside?
If a tsunami hits, where should I go? Where is high ground in Barbados? Are the hurricane shelters also built to withstand earthquakes? If I am home and my children and family members are elsewhere, what should I do? Where should we assemble?
What does an orange alert mean for me, the average citizen, go about my business or make sure the georgie bundle is at hand?
Apparently, a few alerts and radio and television advertisements are now supposed to be synonymous with public education. More importantly, you cannot point to the use of the word disaster preparedness with a picture of a swirling hurricane and flooding and tell me that you are talking about all kinds of disasters. Please!
Clearly, the level of panic and confusion over the last couple of weeks should say that there is a deficit in communication and education somewhere.
Even though as an island we grew up with hurricanes and flooding, I believe that officials, if they are honest, would agree that it takes ongoing education and sensitisation.
I have a clear picture of what I should do in the event of a hurricane; I still have my flashlights at the ready, water stored, and I make sure to rotate my tuna and sardine stash to keep them fresh, but I am not sure if any of them will be relevant if the earth opens up a big hole or if the sea threatens to wash me out.
I also know where the nearest hurricane shelter is to my home, but note the name is hurricane shelter, not earthquake shelter, tsunami shelter nor Kick ’em Jenny shelter.
All I am saying is that officials should not make any assumptions at this point about the level of public education, re-education, or ongoing education that needs to be done to make sure that citizens are aware of exactly what needs to be done.
The rest of the country is in mass confusion, workers walking off jobs; unions and government going to court, then not going to court and then going to court again; the ports of entry in utter shambles. I do not know that we need any further confusion.
Let’s do some stock-taking while there is still time and let’s get this right before it costs us the most important things of all.
Shantal Munro-Knight is a development specialist and executive coordinator at the Caribbean Policy Development Centre. Email [email protected]
