Tsunami drill for Mayo

Following the magnitude 4.0 earthquake of the Mayo coast and given the
number of the low-lying settlements along the Mayo coast a Westport
Councillor has called on Mayo County Council to run an emergency drill
to prepare in case Mayo is ever subject to a Tsunami strike.
Cllr Keith Martin has written to Mayo County Council to request that
an emergency drill be carried out to prepare the county's emergency
services for such an event.
According to Cllr Martin there is a precedent for such a disaster as
the Westport Historical Society's Journal Cathair Na Mart records a
large wave hitting Westport Quay in November 1909. The wave caused
damage as it hit the Quay breaking the Quay wall and leaving large
pieces of it strewn over the road to Rossbeg. The wave sent a wall of
water four feet high up as far as the old railway station, which is
now the Quay school.
Cllr Martin says the events are described in the article "Tidal wave
at Westport Quay" which details the memories of Michael J Lyons who
was fifteen at the time. According to the report "Tons of timber were
strewn about. Boats lay in the road."
Cllr Martin says "Experts now believe the wave was the result of the
tectonic plates shifting far out in the Atlantic and this sent a
mini-tsunami wave racing ashore at Westport. Fortunately the damage
was minor but it should serve as a warning to prepare. The odds of a
Tsunami hitting Westport or Mayo again must be millions to one but we
should be prepared just as we would for an airplane or train crash or
other such unlikely disasters. Mayo County Council runs drills like
the one this summer at Knock Airport whereby a plane crash is
simulated. This tests the preparedness of the emergency services to
cope with unlikely large-scale disasters."
Cllr Martin adds "We only have to look as the disasters in the Pacific
or the recent flooding in New Orleans to know how deadly water can be
and we should not be complacent about such events. Towns like Westport
and Newport are only feet above the sea level at their Quays and we
should be prepared."