Sunday, 11 March marked the first anniversary of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami that killed approximately 20,000 people in Eastern Japan.
In addition to causing widespread destruction along part of Japan’s coastline on 11 March last year, the tsunami also struck the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station, disabling cooling systems and leading to fuel meltdowns in three of the six units.
Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams says that the disaster was a stark reminder to all nations about the importance of having prevention measures in place and placing climate change on national agendas.
"One of the great learning’s from the Japanese quake and tsunami and which can be applied to many other disaster-prone countries is the importance of preparing populations at risk for the worst-case scenario.
"On Sint Maarten, a number of emergency drills have been carried out of recent. There was one at our international airport and the most recent was the evacuation of a cruise ship where our emergency services took part. Last year as well there was a desk-top exercise regarding an earthquake/tsunami threat.
"A study is taking place with respect to flooding and tsunami threats that our country could face, and this will be formalized into preventive plans for our disaster management and emergency services. We are on the right track and cannot let our guard down," Prime Minister Hon. Sarah Wescot-Williams, who is also responsible for disaster management, said on Sunday.