Jamaica Property Company Environmental Health, Safety and Security Manager Nadine Tarawali addresses the gathering of evacuated workers during the Jamaica Property Company-organised earthquake evacuation exercise on Thursday, January 16, 2020.
Twelve days after a co-ordinated evacuation simulation organised by Jamaica Property Company (JPCo), employees and customers of the PanJam Building cluster executed the protocols in New Kingston in the wake of the 7.7 magnitude earthquake yesterday (Tuesday, January 28)
The mass earthquake evacuation drill on Thursday, January 16, saw a workforce of approximately 1,500 from 21 companies emptied from the seven buildings in the cluster — PanJam, RKA, Ministry of Tourism, Masonic Building, Companies Office of Jamaica, IBM and 3M — to the nearby Cinema Lands. That same plan was followed in the aftermath of the quake.
Nadine Tarawali, JPCo Environmental Health, Safety and Security Manager said to the evacuees last fortnight: “We needed the companies to understand the importance of the earthquake evacuation plan.”
Tarawali made mention of the recent earthquakes affecting Puerto Rico and highlighted Jamaica’s susceptibility to tremors, as was experienced yesterday.
JPCo is spearheading the sensitisation for earthquake evacuations for the first time since 2009. The company organised Thursday’s exercise during observation of Earthquake Awareness Week, under the theme “When the earth shakes, do what you are told: DROP, COVER and HOLD”.
Tarawali explained that JPCo hosted several Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) earthquake sensitisation sessions for all participating building occupants between October 2019 and January 2020. However, the planning began with the assignment of emergency wardens within each company.
“From this year onwards, we plan to increase our corporate entity involvement and improve the execution of each subsequent earthquake drill. Next year, we want to include the Dyoll and Sagicor buildings as well as the New Kingston Business Centre. The Emergency Assembly Point [the Cinema Lands] is going to get very full,” she warned. “Exactly what you have done with your companies today, is what you will do when we have an earthquake. It is not a joke, we have to take this very seriously.”
Workers gather in Cinema Lands during the Jamaica Property Company-organised earthquake evacuation exercise on Thursday, January 16, 2020. The co-ordinated evacuation simulation involved seven buildings hosting 21 companies and a workforce of approximately 1,500.
Practice Makes Perfect
The exercise began precisely at 10:00am, under the watchful assessment of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF); the Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB); the Earthquake Unit of the ODPEM; the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation; and the St. Thomas Municipal Corporation, with ambulance provider, AmbuCare, on the ground.
The exercise had well over 90 wardens conducting roll calls within their companies at the Emergency Assembly Point.
After the drill, the national emergency agencies met in the PanJam boardroom to discuss their independent observations.
The overall assessment was a passing grade.
Assistant Superintendent Howard Thomas, officer in charge of the Kingston and St Andrew Fire Prevention Division of the JFB, expressed appreciation to JPCo for organising the drill.
“I must commend the organisation for planning this exercise. We, at the Fire Brigade, know that if an emergency is happening here you can help yourselves until we arrive,” Thomas said.
His colleague Sergeant Andrew Shaw said: “There is no such thing as a bad drill. Every drill has the potential to teach, that is why we do them. In the event of an earthquake, you will know the appropriate steps to take to save lives and respond more effectively.”
From the police standpoint, Acting Assistant Commissioner of Police, Steve McGregor, said his immediate critique was the lack of brisk walking from the participants.
“An earthquake, of all the natural disasters, is the hardest to prepare for. While we can’t fully prepare for an earthquake, we can plan for a mid-range scenario. A lot of people were sceptical even as we did the drill and so we observed that they evacuated at a leisurely pace,” ACP McGregor said. “We have to press that there will be no alert for the earthquake, but for the earth moving.”
The drill is hoped to be a catalyst for other building evacuation plans throughout Kingston, and Tarawali wants to encourage more corporate entity involvement for the 2021 Earthquake Evacuation Exercise.