Verbal Spark!

I was speaking to my mom down in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands a little earlier today and somewhere in our conversation she told me she felt something like a mild tremor. Interestingly enough it did not surprise me because as a little boy living back home on my native island I could recall feeling them on occasion.

After hanging up with her, I began to think about a major earthquake occurring in the Caribbean region. Many of us have probably seen the many documentaries and docudrama’s about earthquake and earthquake spawned tsunami specials on television in the wake of the tragic devastation of the December 2004 mega tsunami in the Indian Ocean. There have been others dealing with predictions and speculations often focused on the United States. Well whether we know it or, the Caribbean region is an area prone to seismic activity. Much of the area was born out of such activity eons ago. The recent rebirth of the Soufriére Hills Volcano in Montserrat in the central Caribbean chain was due to earthquake activity. Jamaica had two memorable earthquakes in relatively recent history, the one that devastated the pirate haven of Port Royal in 1692 and another that leveled Kingston in 1907. Interestingly enough, Kingston was actually founded by refugees that escaped the Port Royal quake. Also, legend has it that the twin island nation of St. Kitts-Nevis, currently separated by two miles of water at their closest point was once connected where they are now separated. It’s believed an earthquake floored the piece of land that was once there.

Earthquakes and accompanying tsunamis/tidal waves, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions tend to be cyclical. People living in areas where these things may frequent and/or occur, relatively speaking can sometimes live an entire lifetime and never experience any of the above and this often leads to a sense of complacency. In the past few years, areas that had not experienced a direct hit from a hurricane for a generation or more were given painful reminders. Hurricane Ivan clobbered the Caribbean island of Grenada in September of 2004. At the time, the people of Grenada could barely remember what a hurricane felt like. Hurricane Marilyn upended my island of St. Thomas in 1995, the first direct hit from a hurricane on that island in over 50 years.

It then is my opinion that the Caribbean region is due for a major earthquake that can cause some major damage. Obviously I hope I am wrong and very wrong, but considering the fact that the area has been hit with them in the past, it’s hard to ignore the possibility of a repeat.