STORM WARNING
Westport Councillor Keith Martin is repeating his call on Mayo County Council to run an emergency drill as a preparation for a Tsunami hitting the Mayo Coast.
Cllr Martin made his original call in June of 2012 following a magnitude 4.0 earthquake off the Mayo coast.
Cllr Martin says "Given the recent flooding and damage to property by the recent storms and considering the large number of the low-lying settlements along the Mayo coast I am, again, calling 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 regulary runs drills to practise for unlikely disasters such as train de-reailments and plane crashes. 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 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.”
Cllr Martin made his original call in June of 2012 following a magnitude 4.0 earthquake off the Mayo coast.
Cllr Martin says "Given the recent flooding and damage to property by the recent storms and considering the large number of the low-lying settlements along the Mayo coast I am, again, calling 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 regulary runs drills to practise for unlikely disasters such as train de-reailments and plane crashes. 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 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.”
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