Tsunami

(Dive Travel Business News - July 8, 2012) -- The past 24 hours has been a busy time for the northern Caribbean: The Dominican Republic has experienced a 5.1 submarine earthquake followed by four smaller quakes while Puerto Rico has experienced four earthquakes ranging from 2.6 - 3.1 on the Richter scale.   

As a result of increased seismic activity, in May 2012 Wendy Watson-Wright, Assistant Director-General of the Intergovernmental Oceanic Commission (IOC) of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)Intergovernmental Oceanic Commission (IOC) of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)Intergovernmental Oceanic Commission (IOC) of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has urged the Caribbean's 40 million people and its 22 million annual tourists to take the threat of a tsunami seriously as it is a case of "when and not if" the region will be struck by the giant waves triggered by earthquakes and volcanic activity.  read more »

(Dive Travel Business News - October 13, 2011) -- A 6.1 magnitude earthquake shook the island dive destination of Bali at 10:16 am Central Indonesia time on Thursday, October 13. The quake caused no deaths and only minor injuries to about 50 people, in part because of the better development standards the tourist industry has pushed, say observers.

The US Geological Survey reported that the quake’s center lay 62 miles south of Denpasar in Southern Bali, and 21 miles beneath the ocean floor and it did not have the potential to trigger a tsunami. Although powerful enough to shake ceiling tiles loose and crumble the walls of Hindu temples, the jolt did not trigger a tsunami warning.  But the quake was felt in East Java to Bali’s west, from Banyuwangi to Surabaya and to its east to the island of Lombok. read more »

(Dive Travel Business - May 13, 2011) -- The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) released preliminary figures for international visitor arrivals to the Asia and Pacific region for the first quarter of 2011. The results show a year-on-year increase of 5 percent. The sharp fall in arrivals to Japan following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, coupled with the decline in arrivals from the Middle East and North Africa, contributed to the subdued 3 percent growth seen for the whole region in March. International visitor arrivals to South Asia grew by 10 percent in March and 13 percent in the first quarter. All the leading destinations in the Indian-subcontinent -- India, the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka -- reported double-digit growth for the quarter.