EDITORIAL

Tremor follows ill wind

Friday, December 17, 2004

In the words of the old proverb, it’s an ill wind that blows nobody any good, and even Hurricane Ivan was not such an ill wind that nobody has benefited from the damage and destruction wrought on our beloved, Grand Cayman.

We remain very conscious of the tremendous losses suffered by most if not every resident of the Island as a result of the passage of Hurricane Ivan, not just in financial terms, but in irreplaceable memorabilia and other personal items.

It is nevertheless gratifying to see that people are beginning to pick up the pieces of lives and businesses and in some cases, are even able to benefit from new opportunities resulting from this devastating storm.

Construction workers and tradesmen of every description are in such demand that it is difficult to find qualified people to undertake the myriad repair and reconstruction jobs that need to be done.

Larger contracting companies are experiencing a dramatic increase in the amount of work available in both the public and private sectors which in turn means steady employment for their employees and revenue for their businesses.

Local entrepreneurs are starting small businesses of every kind to supply marketplace demand at levels never before experienced. These days, it pays to know who may have what in stock even while larger businesses have been sold out or do not know for sure when they may have replenishments of their inventory. 

Meanwhile, as if to serve notice that we should not forget our vulnerability to the forces of nature, last Tuesday’s earthquake should remind us that we need to give equal attention to suitable preparations and contingency plans for such natural disasters.

After all, we could have been faced this week with a tsunami generated by the submarine earthquake. Indeed, some eyewitnesses reported a sea surge of modest proportions resulting from Tuesday’s quake. At least we have some warning and preparation time in the case of hurricanes. An earthquake, on the other hand, strikes without warning. 

And such it did, judging from the amount of people who exited from many supermarkets, restaurants, offices, homes and drinking establishments. Like Ivan, the earthquake felt here was no respecter of people. 

Whilst earth tremors are not unknown in the Cayman Islands, many of us are just discovering the fact that this country lies a mere 20 miles north of a so-called transform fault, where the North American Plate and the Caribbean Plate are sliding horizontally against one another.

Although the relative movement of the two plates is no more than an inch per year, presumably unyielding monolithic rock does not tolerate well any movement at all, hence the sudden slippage and resulting shock felt as an earth tremor.

Clearly more research and public education is called for. Is the recent earthquake an aberration from the norm or has the prior lengthy period of relative quiet been the aberration?

Should our building codes be upgraded to earthquake standards in the same manner that our codes mirror those of South Florida for hurricanes?

Should the public be educated as to how and what to do as well as the precautions to take in the event of a significant earthquake, and other natural or man-made disasters?

All this is food for thought during the coming months as we assimilate the experience and effects of this week’s and that of Ivan’s unexpected event.

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