REAL NEWS: The National Office of Disaster Services (NODS) is refuting claims that a tsunami warning was issued on Monday, July 10, following the passage of an earthquake that afternoon.
The tremor was felt at about 4:28 p.m., here in Antigua and Barbuda, and in at least 10 other Caribbean islands, with locals describing it as being long and heavy.
One agency measured the quake at 6.6 on the Richter Scale, while others reported a magnitude of 6.4 and even of 5.1. Reportedly, it occurred at a depth of 10 km and a location of 20 degrees north and 61 degrees west.
It appears that an international social-media blogger ran with the information, advising followers that a dangerous situation had developed in the Caribbean and that a tsunami warning had been issued.
The man claimed that many of the detection systems had been going off, following what he described as a mega earthquake. Persons who saw the almost two-minute TikTok video said they were unaware that the island had been placed on a tsunami warning.
NODS Public Relations Officer Midcie Francis says that people should be careful about the sources of information coming from social media and investigate their validity.
Francis says that NODS is the agency that would disseminate such information, and there was no need to do, since there was no immediate threat of a tsunami.
NODS is aware that people’s lives might be at risk if information does not reach them in a timely manner, Francis says. And since residents’ safety is of the utmost importance, once the agency receives such information it will be passed on to the public.
In the meantime, Francis says it is very important that residents not be fooled by persons seeking attention via online platforms. Rather, they should listen to trusted local, regional, or international news agencies for accurate information.
Francis says the official alert system for NODS is the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP). The App can be downloaded to residents’ smart phones for official notification about any pending disasters, such as tsunami warnings, as well as hurricane watches.
She says that NODS has a very close relationship with members of the local media; and, on a regular basis, information is shared with these journalists for dissemination to the public.
Advertise with the mоѕt vіѕіtеd nеwѕ ѕіtе іn Antigua!
We offer fully customizable and flexible digital marketing packages.
Contact us at [email protected]
Can you do a spell check before publishing your articles please? Someone forgot the space bar.
Comments are closed.