By VITEMA’s Planning and Preparedness Division

On March 19, 2026, the Virgin Islands Territorial Emergency Management Agency proudly participated in Caribe Wave 2026, the 15th annual regional tsunami exercise coordinated by UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Coordination Group for Tsunamis and Other Coastal Hazards for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions. This year, the USVI did not simply participate — We elevated the exercise to a level the territory has not seen before.

The USVI selected the Kick ’em Jenny scenario, simulating a major flank collapse of the Kick ’em Jenny submarine volcano located approximately 8 kilometers north of Grenada. The scenario projected tsunami waves reaching the U.S. Virgin Islands within 2.5 to 3.5 hours, with simulated wave heights of 1.5 to 3.5 meters at exposed coastal areas. St. John, due to its orientation and bathymetry, was identified as the island with the highest projected wave exposure in the territory and served as the focal point of our response operations. As of March 19, 2026, the USVI recorded 21,526 participants registered in TsunamiZone for the 2026 exercise, a testament to the growing awareness and community commitment to tsunami preparedness across the territory.

VITEMA conducted a full Functional Exercise alongside the regional drill, activating the St. John Emergency Operations Center at the Rescue Building in Cruz Bay as both a primary STJ EOC and a Continuity of Operations alternate site for VITEMA headquarters. The St. Croix alternate site at the Bureau of Information Technology Building also came online, giving us true territorial EOC coordination across all three islands simultaneously. We also successfully validated Starlink satellite communications as a resilient, interoperable platform at the STJ Rescue Building, a critical capability for St. John where primary communications infrastructure would be among the first things stressed in a real event. Emergency Service Coordinators across the territory worked through exercise injects tied to all eight community lifelines, collecting and reporting Essential Elements of Information and escalating Critical Information Requirements to the Governor’s office in real time. The exercise also included a territory-wide test of the Emergency Alert System, delivering messages directly to mobile phones across the USVI.

“This exercise represented a real maturation of how we approach tsunami preparedness in the Virgin Islands,” said VITEMA Director Daryl D. Jaschen. “Our team did not just check a box — they built something. The level of planning, coordination, and execution we saw on March 19th reflects the hard work that goes on behind the scenes every single day to keep this territory ready.”

Deputy Director of Planning and Preparedness Regina Browne, who serves as Vice Chair of ICG/CARIBE-EWS and led the coordination of the exercise, added, “We wanted this year to mean something beyond participation. Activating our St. John EOC, validating Starlink, and running a full functional exercise while meeting our regional Caribe Wave obligations took an incredible team effort. I am proud of every person who showed up and gave it everything they had. The USVI is serious about tsunami preparedness and this exercise showed it.”

VITEMA extends sincere thanks to every Emergency Service Coordinator, agency partner, and community member who participated. Your commitment to this work is what makes the USVI stronger and safer. We will continue building on this momentum through our ongoing Tsunami Walk series and public education initiatives. For tsunami preparedness resources and evacuation maps for St. Thomas, St. Croix, and St. John, visit vitema.vi.gov.