Mark Beckford, Gleaner Writer

Kretchet Douglass-Greaves (left), of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), points at a photograph while Earl Jarrett, general manager at Jamaica National Building Society, and his son Dominic look on at the 1907 Great Kingston Earthquake and Fire exhibition official opening at the Institute of Jamaica in Kingston yesterday. - Rudolph Brown/Chief Photographer

'Quake', the exhibi-tion commemorating the cen-tenary of the Great Kingston Earthquake and Fire of 1907, was launched yesterday at the Institute of Jamaica Gallery.

The exhibition, which is a collaboration between the Museums of History and Ethnography and the National Gallery of Jamaica, showcases several photographs and written accounts which recreate what took place on January 14, 100 years ago.

The exhibition is divided into three sections, the first showing the grandeur of Kingston, then a bustling urban centre before the earthquake. The second section shows the aftermath of the earthquake. The final section looks at the rebuilding efforts as well as revisits some of the principal sites of the earthquake, looking at their present status 100 years after the disaster.

One of the curators of the exhibition, Wayne Modest, said yesterday that the exhibition would allow the public to explore several elements associated with the disaster such as disaster prepared-ness, building practices and the history of photography.

"The exhibition is for the general public to look at what happened in 1907 and basically look at where we are today, and particularly to look at our preparedness for any kind of disasters and that's why we really put this together so that people can see the history in the present."

Commendation

The exhibition is already receiving commendation from the public. Elrys Kensington, 88, who remembers stories from her grandmother who told her of the catastrophic event, said she believed the work done would ensure that the memory of the earthquake and fire and its impact lives on.

"I think it is fantastic. I always like the sense of history and this is not only of our city, but also Jamaica. I also think it is very relevant because people are living so carelessly in derelict buildings and this can serve as a warning," she said.

Keynote speaker Franklyn McDonald believes the exhibition should be used to remind the society of its susceptibility to natural disasters and ensure that resilient systems are designed to cope with them.