Early Warning Color Code Meanings

    Thus far for 2020, the Trinidad & Tobago Meteorological Service has issued no less than 15 Adverse Weather Yellow Alerts for Trinidad and Tobago.

A typical Adverse Weather Alert from the MET Office looks like this:

    What do these warnings mean and how should we respond to these warnings?

    Well, a Yellow Alert is part of the MET Office Hydrometeorological (Hydro-Met) Warning System that alerts the public of potential hazards and recommends the necessary action to be taken to protect life and property.

    Hydrometeorological hazards are of atmospheric, hydrological or oceanographic origin. Examples are hurricanes,  floods, flash floods; drought; heatwaves and cold spells; and coastal storm surges.

    Therefore early warning alerts can be issued for rough seas, riverine flooding and even for the effects localised thunderstorms.

    These alerts are published in advance of the expected hazard via traditional media, social media, Short Message Service (SMS) and even via community loud hailer systems as in the case in south-west Tobago.

The Early Warning Colour Code System employed by the MET Office is shown below:

Click on the chart above for further information.

What Happened In Piparo?

 

 Just after 10 pm on Saturday 21st September  2019, the residents of Piparo Village reported hearing a loud explosion and cracks developed along Pancho trace, a road in close proximity to the mud volcano. Damages were caused to some homes and there was a smell of sulphur in the air. Some residents chose to self-evacuate for fear of a repeat of the last major eruption that occured some 22 years ago on 22 February, 1997.

Damages to a home

    

Damage to a road near the volcano

    The Piparo mud volcano is located at 20P 681164.40 m E, 1143356.89 m N in Piparo Village. This small community of 1249 residents lies just south of the Central Range and due to its location is administered in one part by the Princes Town Regional Corporation and the other part by the Couva, Talparo, Tabaquite Regional Corporation.

    On 22nd February, 1997 after a series of tremors and rumbling that gave precious little warning of the devastating eruption to come, the residents were able to flee at the last minute before magmatic mud flooded their homes from floor to ceiling.

    Mud was spewed about 200 feet into the air causing widespread damage to property. 31 families were displaced by the eruption. 15 cars, 4 pick-up vans, some 15 cattle, 13 goats and scores of poultry and pets were buried. 

    The early morning eruption sent residents screaming and scampering in panic from the tumbling grey mud which pulled down electricity poles, telephone wires, ripped apart pipe lines and knocked down huge trees. A nearby temple, Aum Kar Hindu Temple, and convicted murderer Dole Chadee’s temple were cracked in several places. 

    Tombstones in the Piparo Cemetery tilted and fissures erupted along the road for more than a mile. The eruption rocked areas for miles around. Damage was estimated at millions of TT Dollars. More than 300 people within a one-mile radius of the volcano had to be evacuated. Thankfully, no one was killed.

    Since that initial eruption, there was subsequent activity on the 2nd March, 1997 and December 2011. After the occurrence on 21st September 2019, the ODPM in collaboration with the Ministry of Rural Development and Local Government, the Ministry of National Security, the Environmental Management Agency, the Geological Society of Trinidad and Tobago, the Piparo Village Council and Mr Xavier Moonan of Touchstone Exploration developed an evacuation plan for the residents of Piparo Village.

    Mr Moonan advised that the mud volcano is a natural phenomenon and much of the activity is hidden under the surface. Furthermore, he emphasised that the village lies on the top of the volcano and therefore it should be continuously monitored.

Light mag. 4.9 earthquake - Windward Islands, Trinidad & Tobago on Sunday, 4 October 2020

    On Sunday 04 October, 2020 at 3:15 pm a 4.9 magnitude earthquake jolted parts of Trinidad and Tobago with the effects being felt also in the Windward Islands. No serious damages were reported. The quake occurred at a depth of 56 km with its epicentre at approximately 32 km from Trinidad's north coast and 89 km from Crown Point, Tobago.

    Citizens as far as south as Rio Claro experienced the shaking. Descriptions varied from a small rocking that lasted for 2 to 5 seconds to a strong shaking lasting about 15 seconds.

    The earthquake's epicentre was within zone 4 of 8 earthquake zones around Trinidad and Tobago. In this zone, according to Trinidad and Tobago Weather Centre, earthquakes are associated with the subducting slab of the South American Plate, resulting in a deeper event of depths between 40-55 km, but it can be deeper. Quakes in this area can also be associated with the North Coast Fault System, which runs just offshore the Northern Coast of Trinidad, where events are usually less than 40 km in depth. This area typically produces light (M4.0-4.9) or moderate (M5.0-5.9) magnitude earthquakes. Earthquakes in this zone tend to produce less aftershocks than earthquakes elsewhere across Trinidad and Tobago.