“Recent reports from the region
regarding earthquakes and
elevated seismic
activity should be of concern
to all of us”, Member of
Parliament, Sarah Wescot-
Williams stated recently.
“A statement from Mr. Clive
Richardson of Sunday, January
12th, 2020, did not address or
allay my
concerns, and given the reports
and the inquietude amongst the
population, I’ve posed
questions to Prime Minster
Silveria Jacobs, as the one
responsible for disaster
management.”, the MP said.
The Member of Parliament posed
the following questions to the
Prime Minister in a recent
letter.
1. What is the view of
Government regarding these
increasing seismic activities?
Do these not
warrant increased alertness?
2. What has Government put in
place to mitigate the potential
threat of an earthquake to our
island? Does the plan include
schools and other public
places?
3. What is the disaster
management plan for
earthquakes?
4. Please share any other
information regarding this
matter that could be helpful to
the population as a whole and
may I suggest an urgent
communication plan, if not yet
in place.
“These questions were not posed
to create panic, but to be
assured that the Government of
St. Maarten is doing all within
its power to:
keep the population informed
and prepared, make sure that
plans are in place to roll out
in the event that St. Maarten
is struck by an earthquake and
include drills in the plan,
especially in our schools. In
response, the Prime Minister
has informed me that she will
be calling for an EOC meeting
soonest and will provide the
answers to the questions above,
the MP continued.
MP Wescot-Williams further
stated that she has “downloaded
the Disasterprep Sint Maarten
App, but there appears still
some work to be done before
this can be considered the
medium of choice to reach the
widest population
possible. And of course,
collaboration with our French
counterparts is of paramount
importance.”
“I look forward to some
concrete proposals coming from
the EOC and I encourage all to
be vigilant and helpful in
protecting ourselves as much as
humanly possible”, the MP
concluded.