Geoscientists Without Borders^®

Kingston Harbor, Jamaica: "Preparing Kingston, Jamaica for the Next Great Earthquake and Related Geohazards."

"When a devastating 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck Haiti in 2010, the world was fixated on the country and the aftermath of its natural disaster. Realizing that other coastal countries could suffer if hit with a similar earthquake, a GWB project soon began in Kingston, Jamaica, with the goal of locating active faults and assessing the probability of future, large tsunami- producing earthquakes occurring near Kingston—the capital and economic center of the country."

"The Kingston Harbor project, conducted by the University of Texas at Austin in partnership with the University of West Indies and the Jamaican authorities, has made a positive impact on research at the university. From this sole project, there have been many successes for the university and students. The Caribbean Disaster Network (CARDIN) added the university's research, which was published in The Leading Edge, to its collection and database. The university also has made efforts to expose the research to students in the graduate and undergraduate programs in the Geography and Geology Department of the university. The project also generated more student interest in undertaking research in seismic hazards and vulnerability to the island, resulting in two undergraduate and one graduate research project."

"It is clear that there is increased awareness regarding the location and activity of fault lines and the general seismic vulnerability of Jamaica. Along with raising general awareness, the university has received donations of software to the department, along with equipment offers to further research geophysics, earthquake engineering, and seismic vulnerability. The research has shown encouraging signs of further collaboration with other colleagues in the university and other institutions locally and internationally. GWB has certainly helped to raise the profile of geophysics in my country."

Lyndon Brown, research fellow/head of unit at the University of the West Indies, is associated with the GWB project "Preparing Kingston, Jamaica for the next great earthquake and related geohazards."

"Our primary motivation for assessing geohazards in Kingston, Jamaica, is to make a valuable, hopefully life-saving impact on the people of Jamaica before the next big earthquake occurs. Too often, the scientific community studies geohazards after a disaster happens, when there is relatively little that geoscientists can contribute, because the damage has already been done. Kingston, the capital of the island nation of Jamaica, is adjacent to the same fault that destroyed Port au Prince, (Haiti) and rests at a precarious tipping point in geohazard preparedness."

"Kingston has enough core resources to maintain a small network of seismic stations, but not enough resources to conduct a systematic geophysical investigation of potentially active faults that threaten the city. Working together with the people of Kingston, SEG's Geoscientists Without Borders® program is helping the citizens of Jamaica avoid repetition of the type of disaster that Haiti experienced in 2010."

Matt Hornbach, associate professor in the Huffington Department of Earth Sciences at Southern Methodist University, is the project manager for the GWB project "Preparing Kingston, Jamaica for the next great earthquake and related geohazards."