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Bermuda to take part in tsunami exercise

Remain calm: Bermuda will take part in a tsunami exercise tomorrow

The public is being warned not to worry when they see tsunami warnings posted on the Bermuda Weather Channel tomorrow — it’s all part of an exercise.Participants in the international Atlantic tsunami exercise will include the Bermuda Weather Service, Bermuda Maritime Operations Centre, and the Bermuda Police Service.The exercise, entitled “Lantex Caribe Wave” will simulate an undersea earthquake or landslide, resulting in tsunami waves being directed towards Bermuda and other jurisdictions in the northwest Atlantic.Exercises are also planned for the Gulf Of Mexico, to be carried out on the same day.Weather telephone recordings (977, 9771, 9772, and 9773), www.weather.bm or broadcast via VHF Radio will also carry the exercise warnings. Residents are urged to to think about their state of readiness, should such an actual event occur.There are active earthquake and volcano zones in the Caribbean, and tsunamis have been documented in the Atlantic in the past.BAS-Serco, which operates the Bermuda Weather Service, stated: “It is worth pointing out that Bermuda has recorded a tsunami locally in November 1929, when Flatts experienced a ‘sudden inrush of water, an equally rapid receding, and the final flow back to normal lasting some time’ (quote from The Royal Gazette and Colonist Daily, November 21, 1929).“Only after a few days did word reach Bermuda of the cause of this event, an undersea earthquake and landslide off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, producing a tsunami which killed dozens in the Maritimes of Canada. Thankfully, no fatalities were recorded in Bermuda, but the increase in population and coastal infrastructure indicates a higher vulnerability to this hazard than ever before.”The exercise is sponsored by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and by the US National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Programme.Useful websites:NOAA Tsunami Programme at http://www.tsunami.govNational Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Programme: http://nthmp.tsunami.gov