Is the Caribbean ready to deal with a major earthquake

There was a 3.9 earthquake in the Gulf of Paria today. The University of the West Indies Seismic Research Centre located in St Augustine, Trinidad, said the earthquake was felt in the Central part of Trinidad.

Though a minor event, the news of the tremor will do nothing to ease an already unsettled Caribbean populace, now earthquake wary after the 7.0 magnitude earthquake in Haiti back in January, a 5.8-magnitude tremor in the vicinity of the Cayman Islands a few days later and the 8.8 magnitude earthquake in Chile a few weeks ago.

Located in the Hurricane belt, the Caribbean, especially those islands that get battered every year, are pretty prepared for the Hurricane season.

The specter of more earthquakes in the future raises the important question of how ready the Caribbean is to handle large magnitude tremors including any resultant Tsunamis. Currently, there are no Tsunami warning systems in the Caribbean but according to the The Caribbean Disaster Management Agency a multinational, multiagency initiative to establish a program for reducing the risk to various coastal hazards in the Caribbean and adjacent regions (Central and South American countries along the Caribbean Basin) is underway but it may be several years before this is complete.

Following the earthquake in Chile, many were quick to point out that a major reason for a smaller scale of destruction was due to the country's stronger building codes, as compared to Haiti, where practically none existed and there was little to no planning for the construction of houses.

In Trinidad and Tobago, there has been a call for the establishment of formal building codes and warnings that the islands could face similar damage to Haiti if a major earthquake strikes.

The blow the region's fragile tourism industry could face if more major earthquakes strike is obvious. One just has to look at Haiti that was just getting its tourism legs back. Many of its major hotels have been damaged and airlines canceled flights.

The good news is that Caribbean governments have been shocked into action with organisations such as the Association of Caribbean States rallying Governments to implement early warning systems and other measures to reduce widespread destruction in the event of a major natural disaster.

We can only pray some of these measures are put into place before another large-scale disaster strikes.

St Kitt's luxury real estate market gets boost from Ocean's Edge Resorts

Ocean's Edge Resort in St Kitts recently celebrated the completion of its first villa.

Located 180 feet above sea level, this 4,500 square-foot luxury villa includes three bedrooms plus a guest house pavilion and a 25 foot long infinity edge pool. The villa, with its three terraces, offers spectacular views to the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, the Royal St Kitts Golf Course and St Kitts’ lush landscape of mountains and rainforest.



Robert Scott, Regional Director at Ocean’s Edge described the completion of the villa as an exciting milestone. "we are proud to have completed and handed over the finished product to our esteemed villa owners. The vision is now a reality, and we are thrilled."

Ocean’s Edge, located on the Eastern side of the island overlooking frigate bay, is a resort development with plans for 190 condominiums and 32 villa lots for bespoke villas. To date, of the 15 villa plots currently released for sale, nine have been sold with construction of four villas currently underway and commencement of a further two villas set to begin shortly.


Clients with an interest in purchasing property can participate in a three-night subsidized inspection trip to experience St Kitts and Ocean’s Edge first hand. For more information on Ocean’s Edge Resort please email info@oceansedgestkitts.com or visit www.oceansedgestkitts.com

New blogsite showcases lesser known islands in the Caribbean

UncommonCaribbean.com, a new blogsite designed to promote travel to the Caribbean by spotlighting the region’s lesser-known charms, celebrates its official launch today. The site is the brainchild of two brothers from St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands – Steve Bennett (38), a public relations executive with nearly 20 years of experience in Caribbean travel and tourism marketing, and his brother Patrick Bennett (34), a New York-based advertising creative director with such notable clients as Samsung, Kraft, Six Flags, and Verizon on his resume.

Uncommon Caribbean features a bright, clean design with subtle hints of a treasure map motif in line with the site’s mission to introduce readers to the Caribbean’s “undiscovered” charms. New copy content is added to the site each weekday covering a wide range of topics – gastronomy and spirits, vacation deals, photography, nightlife, resorts, personalities and more – in brief, easy-to-read lengths.

Steve commented on the site, saying: “Uncommon Caribbean is a labor of love for us that we hope entertains and inspires people to get out and explore new and different elements of the region that perhaps they’ve never tried in the past, or ever even heard about.”

Patrick added: “To me, the best travel experiences come from really delving into a foreign culture and experiencing it first hand. Helping people figure out how to do this in the Caribbean is really at the heart of what we’re trying to accomplish with the site.”

For more information about Uncommon Caribbean, please visit www.uncommoncaribbean.com.