By Eng. Vaughn I. Lezama, B.Sc., FAPETT, M.ASCE, R.Eng.
Registrar, Board of Engineering of Trinidad and Tobago (BOETT)
CEO and Principal Engineer, Consulting Engineers Associates 2005 Ltd (CEAL)
The Caribbean is one of the world’s most seismically active regions. Unlike hazards such as hurricanes, whose occurrence is seasonal and generally predictable, earthquakes occur without warning. Their consequences depend not only upon the magnitude of the event but also upon its depth, proximity to populated areas, local geological conditions, and—most importantly—the quality and resilience of the built environment.
Trinidad and Tobago Lies Along an Active Plate Boundary
The recent Venezuela earthquake serves as a timely reminder that Trinidad and Tobago occupies a geologically active location along the complex boundary between the Caribbean Plate and the South American Plate. These tectonic plates are continually moving relative to one another at an average rate of approximately 20 millimetres per year. Although imperceptible on a daily basis, this movement causes stresses to accumulate within the Earth’s crust over many decades. When the accumulated stress exceeds the strength of the underlying rock formations, it is suddenly released as seismic energy, producing an earthquake.
This plate boundary extends east-west through northern Venezuela and passes immediately to the north of Trinidad before continuing through the Lesser Antilles island arc. Consequently, earthquakes generated anywhere along this boundary have the potential to affect Trinidad and Tobago directly. Depending on their magnitude, depth and location, they may produce strong ground shaking, ground rupture, liquefaction, landslides, coastal subsidence, and in some cases localized tsunami effects.
A History of Earthquakes in the Region
The geological history of the region confirms that destructive earthquakes are neither unusual nor unprecedented. Historical records indicate that major earthquakes have repeatedly affected northern Venezuela and the Eastern Caribbean over the past three centuries. Trinidad and Tobago has experienced significant shaking from several of these events, including the 1766 and 1900 Venezuela earthquakes, the 1953 Gulf of Paria earthquake, and more recently the magnitude 6.9 earthquake of August 2018 centred off the coast of Venezuela. The 2018 event was felt throughout Trinidad and Tobago, causing structural cracking in buildings, disruption to businesses, and widespread public concern. Fortunately, the limited damage experienced was largely attributable to the offshore location of the earthquake and the relatively short duration of intense shaking rather than any inherent immunity of our building stock.
Seismologists have consistently warned that the absence of frequent destructive earthquakes should never be interpreted as an indication of reduced seismic risk. Indeed, long periods without major seismic events often result in increased vulnerability as communities expand, urban development intensifies, infrastructure ages, and memories of previous disasters gradually fade. The result is a dangerous sense of complacency that encourages underinvestment in maintenance, inadequate enforcement of building regulations, and a diminished appreciation of seismic design requirements.
This phenomenon has been observed repeatedly around the world. Countries that have experienced long intervals between major earthquakes frequently suffer disproportionately severe consequences when seismic activity eventually occurs. Conversely, jurisdictions that recognise earthquakes as an ever-present design consideration generally achieve significantly better outcomes because their buildings and infrastructure are designed, constructed and maintained with resilience in mind.
The Resilience of Our Existing Built Environment
For Trinidad and Tobago, this distinction is especially important. The nation’s built environment represents many decades of development undertaken under evolving engineering standards and construction practices and ineffective or absent building regulations. While many modern industrial facilities and critical infrastructure have been designed by engineers to internationally recognised engineering standards, large portions of the residential, commercial and public building stock have, by omission, not benefited from consistent professional engineering oversight during their construction.
The challenge therefore extends beyond the design of new buildings. Existing structures—including schools, hospitals, emergency response facilities, government buildings, bridges, port facilities and essential utilities—must also be evaluated to determine whether they possess sufficient structural resilience to perform their intended functions following a significant earthquake. Modern disaster risk management increasingly recognises that critical facilities should not merely avoid collapse; they must remain operational to support emergency response and community recovery immediately after a disaster.
Designing for Multiple Natural Hazards
The Caribbean region also faces a unique combination of multiple natural hazards. Buildings are expected to withstand hurricanes, flooding, coastal erosion, landslides and, increasingly, the impacts of climate change. Earthquake resilience cannot therefore be considered in isolation. Engineers are required to adopt a multi-hazard approach to design that considers the interaction of these hazards throughout the life cycle of infrastructure. Structural systems capable of resisting hurricane wind loads must also possess sufficient ductility and detailing to withstand earthquake-induced ground motions. Foundations designed for flood resilience must also account for the potential effects of liquefaction and differential settlement during seismic events. Achieving these objectives requires a high level of engineering competence and adherence to recognised professional standards.
Engineering Decisions Shape Future Disaster Risk
The recent Venezuela earthquake demonstrates that seismic hazards are not hypothetical risks confined to distant countries. They are an integral part of the geological reality of the Caribbean. Whether future earthquakes occur tomorrow or several decades from now, the engineering decisions made today will largely determine how successfully our communities withstand them.
This places the responsibility squarely upon governments, regulators, developers, contractors, property owners and, above all, the engineering profession. Every new building designed without adequate consideration of seismic forces, every construction project undertaken without competent engineering supervision, and every instance where recognised engineering standards are compromised contributes to increasing the nation’s future disaster risk.
The lesson is both simple and profound:
“Earthquakes cannot be prevented, but earthquake disasters can be significantly mitigated through competent engineering, effective regulation, quality construction and sustained investment in a resilient built environment”.