NWS Southern Region Director Bill Proenza (left) congratulates Lajas Mayor Marcos Arturo Irizarry Pagan during TsunamiReady recognition ceremony (Photo: Melinda Bailey, NWS)
(December 30, 2008) -- Officials from the National Weather Service recognized the Municipality of Lajas, Puerto Rico as a TsunamiReadyTM community. Lajas is one of only three TsunamiReady communities in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. Located on the southwest corner of the island with a population of approximately 30,000, Lajas shares the designation with the Municipalities of Mayagüez and Dorado.
Most of the citizens of Lajas 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.
Working closely with the National Weather Service forecast office in San Juan, Lajas completed a rigorous set of warning and evacuation criteria to meet the guidelines for TsunamiReady recognition.
"While no community can be tsunami proof, Lajas now has the means to minimize the loss of life from any future tsunami," said Bill Proenza, regional director of the National Weather Service Southern Region." A tsunami may not strike for many generations, but it could happen next week. We now look forward to continued expansion of the program to include all Puerto Rico coastal communities and eventually - all of our Caribbean neighbors."
City officials were presented with a recognition letter and special TsunamiReady signs in a ceremony at the municipal building in Mayag�ez. The TsunamiReady process is ongoing and the city will be up for recertification in three years. To be recognized as TsunamiReady, a community must establish a 24 hour warning point, develop multiple ways to receive tsunami warnings and alert the public, develop a formal tsunami hazard plan and conduct emergency exercises and promote public readiness through community education.
Additional information about the National Weather Service TsunamiReady program is available at http://www.stormready.noaa.gov/tsunamiready.