The community of Manzanillo, located in the province of Limón, will be part of the tsunami evacuation simulation epicenter this week. The activity will be carried out within the framework of the Caribbean Wave in which other countries in the area participate.
The Caribe Wave is the largest simulation carried out worldwide, according to the National Commission for Risk Prevention and Emergency Response (CNE). More than 600,000 people from 48 Caribbean countries, members of the Tsunami Warning System, participate in it.
The Caribe Wave takes place in March of each year
This drill is intended to strengthen response capabilities and the use of communication systems for tsunamis. The National Tsunami Monitoring System of the National University (Sinamot) of the National University also participates in the exercise. It will consist of a simulated scenario for an earthquake of magnitude 8.3 north of Panama, which would generate a tsunami throughout the Costa Rican Caribbean.
Tools for the inhabitants
As reported by the CNE, the objective of this drill is to give the inhabitants of Manzanillo the inputs so that they have a series of knowledge such as the identification of natural warnings before a tsunami, as well as recognizing the evacuation routes to safe areas in the event of a tsunami.
“The Sinamot will participate in what will be the design and technical approach of the event that will be simulated in the coming days in this community,” said Lidier Esquivel, head of the Research and Risk Analysis Unit of the CNE.
Tourism sector involved
The tourism sector will also be involved, so officials from the National System of Conservation Areas (Sinac) will carry out the evacuation of tourists from the Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge.
Costa Rica has participated in this project since 2014, doing simulations in Limón, Guápiles (with all the Municipal Emergency Committees of the Caribbean coastal cantons), Tortuguero, Manzanillo and Cahuita.
About 83 tsunamis have occurred in the Caribbean Sea in the last 500 years. In Costa Rica there is a record of five tsunamis on the Caribbean coast. One of them, which occurred in 1991, ended the lives of three people.
