Sixth district resident expressed concerns about the Department of Disaster Management (DDM) communication system and stated that it should be a priority since the hurricanes of September 2017. Photo: VINO

Dr The Honourable D. Orlando Smith (AL), Premier and Minister of Finance stated during the sixth district consultation meeting that his government approved the purchase of a new communication system for the Department of Disaster Management (DDM). Photo: VINO

Chairman of the Disaster Recovery Coordinating Committee (DRCC), Mr Brodrick Penn added that the text messaging system is having some problems and they are being fixed. Photo: VINO

The Department of Disaster Management (DDM) was not able to use the public sirens, part of their National Emergency Broadcast System, to notify the people about a tsunami alert recently because they were destroyed by the powerful winds of Hurricane Irma in September of 2017. Photo: DDM

"I think our communication system needs immediate overhauling. There was a tsunami and I didn't see anything on my phone and nothing was on the local news sites," while noting that it was on the international news site that she read the information.

It was on January 9, 2018 that a Tsunami advisory was issued for the Virgin Islands (VI) by the Department of Disaster Management (DDM) after a magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck the coast of Honduras.

However, due to the damages that the warning systems sustained following the hurricanes of September 2017, no warning was sent out via the sirens of a tsunami advisory.

The Sixth District resident continued, "It was way into the day before I saw something local," emphasising that it needs to be addressed urgently as it plays a "vital" role for the territory moving forward.

Many residents were very concerned when there was no form of warning about the Tsunami until in the evening the next day via the local news sites. Some resident expressed to our newsroom that their would have been many deaths if the tsunami actually struck the Virgin Islands.

This news site had published a story on the earthquake and brief tsunami advisory for the Virgin Islands at 6:25 A.M. on January 10, 2018.

Speaking with our newsroom, one resident said, "I know the hurricanes damaged the system but they should have been a priority in order to get them fixed because we basically depend on DDM to somewhat protect us in some sense."

"It was very alarming to know that a Tsunami could have hit us and there was no type of warning. Not even the usual text messages from Digicel and the rest. We need to do better," said another resident.

Approval for the purchase of a new system

In response, Dr The Honourable D. Orlando Smith (AL), Premier and Minister of Finance, commented that the warning system was damaged severely by the hurricanes but added that his government approved the purchase of a new system for DDM.

It is our newsroom's understanding; however, it was only after much pressure from the public and the intervention of Governor Augustus J. U. Jaspert aka 'Gus' that the Cabinet of Premier Smith approved the expenditure of four hundred and forty two thousand dollars ($442,000), to re-establish the National Early Warning System and restore the DDM Headquarters.

This was a story reported by this news site on January 18, 2018.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Disaster Recovery Coordinating Committee (DRCC), Mr Brodrick Penn explained that the text messaging system is also experiencing some issues and it is being currently rectified.

See link to related articles:

http://www.virginislandsnewsonline.com/en/news/tsunami-advisory-briefly-issued-for-vi-after-strong-honduras-quake

http://www.virginislandsnewsonline.com/en/news/ddm-under-fire-for-no-sirens-warning-system-during-tsunami-alert