The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), through the Bahamas Department of Meteorology, will be participating in a Regional Tsunami Exercise scheduled to take place Wednesday, March 25, 2015 from 8:30 am to 5pm.

The exercise is the CARIBE WAVE/LANTEX 2015 Regional Tsunami Exercise, aimed at testing the Tsunami Warning System for the Caribbean and Adjacent regions.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the organizers of the exercise states the following:“The goal of this exercise is to in addition to testing communication systems, also review tsunami response plans, from the institutional thru the individual level.”

The Bahamas Department of Meteorology (the National Tsunami Warning Focal Point) will automatically receive the simulated products from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, following which NEMA will alert the media and the public at large.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) is one of two tsunami warning centers that are operated by NOAA in the United States, which is headquartered in Ewa Beach, Hawaii. It has extended its warning guidance to include the Indian Ocean, the Caribbean and adjacent regions.

A tsunami is a series of ocean waves caused by an underwater earthquake, landslide, or volcanic eruption. More rarely, a tsunami can be generated by a giant meteor impact with the ocean.These waves can reach heights of over 100 ft.

Some tsunami facts are:

The first wave of a tsunami is usually not the strongest, successive waves get bigger and stronger.

Tsunamis can travel at speeds of about 500 miles or 805 kilometers an hour, almost as fast as a jet plane.

If caught by a tsunami wave, it is better not to swim, but rather to grab a floating object and allow the current to carry you.

Tsunamis retain their energy, meaning they can travel across entire oceans with limited energy loss.

The Bahamas is a low-lying archipelago of islands – the highest point in the country is Mt. Alvernia located on Cat Island at 207 ft above sea level.

Therefore, should any part of the country be faced with a tsunami warning and the threat is imminent, people are asked to seek the highest point from where they are.

NEMA conducted its first tsunami exercise one year ago, on Wednesday, March 26, 2014.