Mr.
Speaker, as everyone is very much aware on January 28th,
at 2:10pm, a 7.7 magnitude earthquake occurred south of Cuba and
northwest of Jamaica at a depth of 10km. Strong earth tremors were
felt across the Cayman Islands and our neighbours. At 2:17pm
preliminary notification was
received from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, the official source
for tsunami information for the Caribbean that a 7.3 earthquake event
had occurred and that tsunami waves were possible for the Cayman
Islands. The magnitude was later corrected to 7.7.

A
series of aftershocks were felt in the 12 hours that followed the
initial earthquake. Hazard Management Cayman Islands coordinated
public warnings, including the activation of a radio interrupt system
and prepared for opening public shelters, should there be a need. I
am grateful that the Red Cross did open their shelter at 7pm on
Tuesday.

I
can advise this House that at 2:19
pm, less
than 10 minutes after the initial shock waves were felt; Hazard
Management Cayman Islands interrupted all radio stations alerting the
public that a serious earthquake had occurred and that a potential
tsunami was possible for the Cayman Islands. Advice such as moving
away from the coastline and low-lying areas were included, as was
moving to upper floors of strong reinforced concrete structures if
this was an option. These radio interrupts were repeated several
times. Alerts were also posted on Hazard Management’s website and
social media pages.

Following
the earthquake, and as an immediate precaution, the Royal Cayman
Islands Police Service helicopter was deployed to survey the coastal
areas of Grand Cayman for signs of damage and potential tsunami
waves. No such evidence was observed during these trips. Between
3:04 pm and 3:08 pm HMCI issued updates on social media and the
Cayman Prepared website stating that it was now considered unlikely
that the Cayman Islands would be impacted by a damaging tsunami as
information from the Pacific
Tsunami Warning Center
indicated the first tsunami wave would have already passed the Cayman
Islands and the main threat now related to the possibility of
aftershocks.
At 3.49 p.m. the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center confirmed there was
no danger of a tsunami.

I’m
extremely grateful that after such a significant earthquake we have
come through fairly well with no loss of life or serious injury being
reported. The
tremor shocked and shook us all, but we did what this incredible
country does when faced with such moments – we rallied.

Mr.
Speaker, immediately following the quake I, along with the Governor
and the Minister of Home Affairs, joined the National Emergency
Operations Center of Hazard Management at the Government
Administration Building and observed the very capable team there.

I
commend the Hazard Management team for their quick response and their
tireless work through the day and night working with the Joint
Communications Services and other Emergency Support Teams such as
utilities to keep Caymanians, residents and visitors informed with
up-to-date information.

The
Governor, I and Minister of Home Affairs, who has responsibility for
Hazard Management Cayman, gave a joint televised statement as soon as
it was practical to do so, at about 3pm. We later that day provided
a televised update that included Hazard Management personnel.

From
what I observed on Tuesday, the investments that this Government and
the last Administration have made in keeping our communities safe and
secure including upgrading the Islands’ disaster communications
capability are paying off.

Mr.
Speaker, we have invested heavily in our safety and people through
Phase I of the National Emergency Notification System, which allows
radio interruptions. Complemented by a dedicated communications team
that included GIS, Radio Cayman and CIGTV, information was provided
quickly to a concerned public. There is a second phase of National
Emergency Notification System launching in April or May in the form
of a ‘Phone App’ that will provide immediate notifications
through text messaging and social media. I encourage all who are
resident in these Islands to install the ‘app’ once it is
available.

Mr.
Speaker, I thank the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service for their
work to ease the flow of traffic and help diffuse what could have
become an untenable situation on our roads and the Cayman Islands
Fire Service for the role its members played. Grand Cayman didn’t
experience this earthquake in isolation. It was felt on all three
Islands. The District Administration on Cayman Brac and Little Cayman
did an outstanding job as did first responders on all three Islands.

I
also applaud those on the front line who worked with vision and
determination Tuesday afternoon and throughout the night to ensure
our utilities remained functioning and safe. Mr. Speaker, the Water
Authority worked valiantly to isolate leaks and have most of water
back on by Wednesday.

I
believe all of the schools are open today, except UCCI, returning
normalcy to the lives of students, faculty and staff. We decided to
close public school buildings on Wednesday to ensure the safety of
those structures and of course, some had no water.

I
commend the men and women – civil servants, public servants and
private sector – who went in to work in the wee hours of Wednesday
morning to begin the long arduous process of inspecting structures
for safety.

I
thank all of those who turned out to man our shelters, especially on
the Brac where patients from Faith Hospital were relocated in the
threat of a tsunami.

Mr.
Speaker, we know there are many sink holes both here on Grand Cayman
and Cayman Brac as a result of the earthquake and I urge motorists
and pedestrians and everyone to use caution as they approach these
areas. They are being dealt with as quickly as possible. I also ask
the public to notify 911 or the Hazard Management Facebook Page if
they come across sinkholes that have not been identified.

Mr. Speaker, before I close I do want to remind the public that Hazard Management has warned us that we could experience aftershocks for approximately up to two weeks, so if you have not yet made an earthquake plan or don’t know what to do during and after a tremor, look at Hazard Management’s web page caymanprepared.ky.

Inevitably,
there are things that could have gone better. We will be doing a full
“lessons Learned” dissect across government and public agencies
to ensure that our response is improved in the future, including a
debrief Friday.

Yes,
we have learned a lot since Tuesday afternoon about disaster
management in respect to earthquakes and while there are still
lessons to be learned from Tuesday’s earthquake, the quick response
and cool heads of those responsible for managing these types of
events showed us that we are in a good place in helping to keep
people as safe as possible in these eventualities.

Through
God’s grace and mercy this too shall pass.