Peter Espeut

Jamaica experiences an average of three earthquakes each week, the vast majority of which can only be detected by seismographs. (For once, politicians are not to blame!) Earthquake Awareness Week always falls around the anniversary of the massive 1907 earthquake which did so much damage, and this year is the 100th anniversary of that disaster. It is a marvellous opportunity to increase national awareness of this vulnerability.

Two points for history buffs: The 1907 earthquake did not topple the statue of Queen Victoria at parade, but turned it about one-third the way around on its pedestal; once King's House was destroyed, the governor, Sir James Alexander Swettenham and Lady Mary Swettenham moved back into the Old King's House in Spanish Town, the last time it was so occupied.

The wide open spaces of the Kingston Racecourse became a refugee camp for the homeless after the earthquake, initially under the 'Big Top' of the Shipe and Feltus Circus, which happened to be in town, but later in the 'shack city' that rose up.

Misconception

One misconception about the January 14, 1907 earthquake (3:30 p.m.) is that only Kingston and its environs were affected, and so it is possible that public awareness messages may unwittingly convey the false impression that earthquake awareness is a predominantly Kingston thing. In fact, the 1907 earthquake destroyed churches in Above Rocks and King Weston (St. Andrew), Highgate, Annotto Bay and May River (St. Mary), and Avocat (Portland). Great Houses at Cedar Valley (Portland), Flamstead, Gordon Town, Hope Tavern and King's House (St. Andrew), and Port Henderson (St. Catherine) were destroyed; the underground shifted and the spa at Port Henderson dried up.

We have to avoid Kingston-centred and Corporate Area-centred history. Yes, the major earthquake of June 7, 1692, (11:40 a.m.) sank the town of Port Royal; but it also destroyed Fort Henry (guarding Spanish Town); the Bog Walk gorge was blocked for weeks by fallen boulders. Judgement Cliff (St. Thomas) disintegrated, causing the largest landslide in Jamaican history (some say) with 160 million tons (86 million cubic yards) of rubble. The north coast towns of Port Maria, Annotto Bay, Buff Bay and Port Antonio felt the earthquake more strongly than Port Royal, and in the following five hours the wave (tsunami) caused by the earthquake reflected at least eight times between the north coast of Jamaica and the south coast of Cuba. The coastal settlement of Liguanea on Store House Bay - the major port for St. Andrew before there was a Kingston - was flooded and destroyed by the earthquake and the south coast tsunami.

Lest we forget, these are not the only destructive earthquakes in our history. The violent earthquake of 1712 destroyed St. James Cathedral in Spanish Town. The earthquake of October 20, 1744, destroyed Fort Augusta (then under construction) and the St. James Parish Church in Montego Bay. Port Royal was again destroyed by the 1771 earthquake. The 1780 quake rocked Westmore-land destroying parts of Savanna-la-Mar. I can only find record of one major earthquake during the 19th century - in November 1812.