The commune of Fort-Liberté (North-East), is preparing to become this week, the first commune of Haiti to receive the "Tsunami ready" label, for its compliance with international requirements for tsunami preparedness and response.

Dr. Jerry Chandler, Director of Civil Protection states "This recognition does not mean that the commune is now completely safe from tsunamis. It only confirms the relevance of the initiatives, which have been taken in recent years, to make the fort-dauphinoise community ready to react in the event of a tsunami warning."

Note that the "Tsunami ready" label is part of the "Caribe EWS : Tsunami Ready" pilot program, testifies to the knowledge of the tsunami danger zones in Fort Liberté, the production of maps, the establishment of local emergency focal point, tsunami evacuation route signs, as well as on-site public education and tsunami simulation.

The engineer Gerard Métayer, in charge of the tsunami program at the Maritime Service and Navigation of Haiti (SEMANAH), wishes that the commune of Fort-Liberté can inspire other coastal communities of the country, while working to preserve the label that is valid for a period of three years.

The obtaining of the "Tsunami ready" label is the result of the joint efforts of SEMANAH, the National Center for Geospatial Information (CNIGS), the Directorate of Civil Protection (DPC) and its departmental technical coordination of North East and the northeast departmental direction of the Haitian National Police.

Let's stress that the pilot program "Caribe EWS" is coordinated by the Caribbean Tsunami Warning Program which is funded in Haiti by the US Agency for International Development and the US Bureau of help disaster abroad (USAID-OFDA).

HL/ HaitiLibre