Vandals, thieves target earthquake equipment

Members of the public are being urged to desist from stealing and destroying seismic monitoring equipment installed by the Earthquake Unit at its stations across the island.

Paul Williams, network manager/engineer at the unit, said several of its broadband and accelerograph stations have either been stolen or vandalised over the years.

He said that stations in St Thomas, Trelawny, St James, St Elizabeth and Westmoreland are among those affected.

"The main things that we lose from these sites are batteries and solar panels. From time to time, they take some of the earthquake recording equipment and the wires or the copper that is used for lightning grounding protection," Williams said.

He informed that the pieces of equipment play an integral role in ensuring that the unit carries out its duties effectively.

"These are equipment that can save lives or provide information that can save lives in the future. So, it is very important that people in these communities protect them because it is their tax dollars that purchase [the items]," Williams pointed out.

The Earthquake Unit, located at The University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, serves as Jamaica's hub for earthquake monitoring and seismic research.