Tsunami siren in Mayagüez (Photo: WFO San Juan)
(Dec. 13, 2007) - National Weather Service staffers joined city officials in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico to conduct the island's first TsunamiReady® drill. Held at the Barrio EL Seco, Concordia School, the exercise began with the activation of a new tsunami siren purchased by the City. In addition to activating the siren warning tone, an audio voice with a tsunami drill message, was broadcast in Spanish and English. Evacuation to a pre-determined assembly point was completed in less than 20 minutes.
At a news conference following the drill, Puerto Rico Emergency Management Director Nazario Lugo announced approval of funding to extend the hours of operation for the Puerto Rico Seismic Network. Headquartered at the University of Puerto Rico in Mayagüez, the PRSN will receive $550 thousand annually to operate on a 24 hour basis, beginning July 1, 2008.
Rafael Mojica, warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service forecast office in San Juan; and, PRSN Director Christa Von-Hillabrandt were also on hand for the drill and news conference. Both played a major role in helping Mayagüez become Puerto Rico's first TsunamiReady® community in May 2006.
Located on the island's west coast, Mayagüez has a population of 105,000 people, nearly a third of whom live and work in areas considered vulnerable to tsunamis. Of particular concern is the Puerto Rico Trench to the northwest.
Highly susceptible to seismic activity, the Trench is a boundary between the Caribbean, North American and South American Plates. Since 1848, eight tsunamis have originated there causing more than 2,500 deaths. In 1918, a 7.5 magnitude earthquake in the Trench resulted in a tsunami that killed 140 people in Puerto Rico.
Mayagüez TsunamiReady® recognition ceremony in May 2006 (Photo: WFO San Juan)
