CHOISEUL AND PIAYE ARE TSUNAMI READY. WOULD YOU KNOW WHERE TO GO?

 By Dedan | Choiseul on the Move

If a tsunami warning came while you were in Piaye, would you know where to go? And if the person next door needed help getting out, would anyone know who was going to assist?

Those are the questions I keep coming back to as we celebrate a genuine achievement for our coast. On September 27, 2026, Choiseul/Piaye earned international Tsunami Ready recognition through UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission. It is Saint Lucia’s second recognition under the programme, following Laborie in 2024. Read UNESCO’s October 21 report.

The community put in the work

UNESCO reported that the community carried out ten educational activities, surveyed which residents might need extra support and involved students in improving the evacuation plan. On July 1, residents took part in a drill that included persons with disabilities. Among them was Christy Joseph, a visually impaired resident who spoke about why persons with disabilities need a voice in preparedness planning. Read the account of the drill and community work.

Credit is due to NEMO, the Choiseul District Disaster Management Committee, the volunteers, the students and the residents who helped earn this recognition. I am especially glad that persons with disabilities had a voice in the process. I use a wheelchair, so when somebody says there is an evacuation route, my next question is a practical one. Can I use it, and who will help me if I cannot manage it on my own?

Put the plan where people can find it

I would like NEMO and the district committee to tell residents where to find the latest official evacuation maps for Choiseul and Piaye. Show us the marked routes and designated assembly points. Tell us how a warning will reach somebody who cannot hear a siren, and what arrangements are in place for people who need help leaving their homes. Give us the date of the next community drill so families can take part.

Put that information where people already go. A map at the shop, the school or another familiar public spot can reach someone who will never see it online. And a visitor standing near the coast should be able to recognise the signs and understand where they point.

Our parliamentary representative, Keithson Charles, called for the achievement to lead to lasting attention to safety across the constituency. Here is one way to carry that forward. Help get the maps and drill dates into residents’ hands, and ask the people who need evacuation assistance whether the arrangements will work for them. Read UNESCO’s account of the ceremony.

And to my neighbours in Choiseul and Piaye, let me ask you directly. Could you show someone the evacuation route from where you live, work or spend time by the coast? If you are unsure, tell us where the information is missing or where a sign would help. The people who walk those roads every day can tell us a great deal about how the plan will work when it matters.