PRESS RELEASE 

The National Office of Disaster Services (NODS) marked a milestone for Barbuda today, as the community received UNESCO-IOC Tsunami Ready recognition at a ceremony held at the Sir McChesney George Secondary School, making it the 25th community in the Caribbean and the 125th in the world to achieve the designation.

Minister of State within the Ministry of Social and Urban Transformation, the Honourable Kiz Johnson, officially declared Barbuda’s upgraded tsunami early warning system launched before an audience that included Member of Parliament for Barbuda Trevor Walker, NODS Director Sherrod James, Director of the Antigua and Barbuda Meteorological Service Dale Destin, UNESCO IOC Working Group 4 Chair Jacob Numba, and students from Holy Trinity Primary School and Sir McChesney George Secondary School, whose year-long involvement in the readiness process included producing an original tsunami awareness music video screened at the event.

“True resilience lives in our readiness,” Minister Johnson told the gathering, describing the launch as more than a rollout of technology. “We are honouring our collective promise. We are protecting and safeguarding the lives of the people of Barbuda, building a safer and more resilient set of people for this country.”

Minister Johnson reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to strengthening early warning systems across both islands, thanking NODS, the Barbuda Council under Chairman John Mussington, and international partners including UNESCO-IOC, NOAA and ITIC for a project funded in part by the United States Department of State.