00:00We would have had our own experience in 1997 where two earthquakes, one on the 2nd of April 1997
00:10and one on the 22nd of April 1997 with a devastated Tobago, I think we would have lost one life,
00:18but we would have lost our libraries, we would have lost a number of key infrastructure on the island.
00:25So again, I want to reiterate that comprehensive disaster management is crucial.
00:31Director Stewart said some buildings in Tobago are still horizontal cross members with the use of hollow clay blocks
00:38and horizontal core that cannot withstand major earthquakes and therefore leaves most of Tobago vulnerable.
00:47I think the magnitude of a 7.2 and a 7.5 will cause catastrophic damage on the island of
00:57Tobago, without a shadow of a doubt.
01:00I think one of the factors that we have to understand, similar like in 1997,
01:04these shallow earthquakes, the P wave and the S wave, once you have those things happening, they bring down buildings.
01:11They definitely bring down buildings, as you see what happened with our library back then,
01:15what happened with the bus terminus and other factors, other buildings that would have crumbled during such.
01:21Tobago Emergency Management Agency, TEMA, will embark on a Venezuela Marathon Relief Drive,
01:28an initiative designed to make donating easier by bringing the relief effort directly into communities across Tobago.
01:36The Marathon Relief Drive will travel throughout the eastern communities of the island on Saturday, July 18th,
01:44collecting approved relief supplies from residents, businesses, village councils and community groups
01:50who may not be able to visit an official collection point.
01:54The initiative forms part of Tobago's contribution to the National Humanitarian Relief Drive
02:01for communities in Venezuela, affected by the recent earthquakes, and the Muslim community is on board.
02:09We would like to use our compound to store goods and services so that we can send to the people
02:14of Venezuela.
02:14We have a lot of storage here, so we are giving our compound all of the space there.
02:19People can drop up stuff at the mosque compound in the lowlands.
02:21Also, in our collaboration, I believe, as the Muslim community, not only Muslim community,
02:27but all religious bodies and the people, this is a time of need,
02:30and this is a time that we need to get together to see what we can do.
02:34Every bit counts.
02:36Chairman of the Community Emergency Response Team, CERT 1000, Lester Frederick, says,
02:42the aim is for 1,000 non-perishable items to be collected.
02:47We did some grung work already in terms of sensitizing the persons and the business places
02:53on the north side of the island already, and the reaction, the reception was astronomical, you know.
03:02We'll be doing some work on the southwestern end of the island as well and the central area.
03:09TEMA encourages individuals, community groups, businesses, and organizations
03:15wishing to donate to look out for the Marathon Relief Truck on Saturday
03:19or deliver donations to any official collection partner before the Monday deadline.
03:26Elizabeth Williams, TV6 News.
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