DSP in disbelief as earthquake thought becomes reality

DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENT of Police (DSP) Justin Woolcock got the shock of his life yesterday when less than an hour after he arrived at the Supreme Court and had earlier wondered whether the nearby car park would be able to withstand an earthquake, he found himself experiencing one of the biggest tremors of his life.

The senior police officer in charge of administration at the Kingston Western Division was among scores of Supreme Court staff, police officers, judges, lawyers and attendees, who had hastily assembled in the courtyard after the tremor had subsided.

Emotions were palpable, many persons were seen obviously shaken, and some were even in tears. A few were overcome by the spirit, with one speaking in tongues as another expressed gratitude to God for His mercies.

Recounting his experience, DSP Woolcock said he was at a loss that earlier that morning he had thought about an earthquake and it came to pass.

“It was just a random thought based on the number of floors in the car park and the number of cars that are stacked; I just wondered whether the building would be able to withstand an earthquake,” he said.

Asked what was his initial reaction to the 5.6-magnitude quake, Woolcock said: “Shock, I just couldn’t believe that my thought materialised.”

According to the officer who has been in the force for 20 years, the tremor is the strongest he has felt in a while.

“Sometime in the late nineties I felt something of this nature,” he said.

Attorneys-at-law Ernest Davies and John Jacob who both dashed from courtroom 2, after being surprised by the massive tremor, echoed similar sentiments noting that it was the largest earthquake they had experienced.

While Jacobs said “it was a shocking experience”, Davies said it did not last long enough to scare him.

A court clerk, 27, who was spotted on the outside making phone calls to her relatives to ensure everyone was safe, said that it was the first time she was experiencing such a disaster.

She said she was inside the courtroom about to start a trial when the tremor started and she immediately sat down in her seat as she knew it was an earthquake.

“I never felt one before, I’m normally busy but I am feeling a bit traumatised and shaken up by this one,” she added.

The earthquake later resulted in an early adjournment of all the court cases including the trial of Portland businessman Everton ‘Beachy Stout’ McDonald and Oscar Barnes. The trial will continue today.

Chief Justice Bryan Sykes, who was seen milling about the crowd which gathered on the outside, said the event presented an opportunity for the courts to shore up its preparation.

“What this does is reinforce the need for us to have our disaster drills in place and with this real-time experience, there are still some things we have to work on, so we will be reviewing that and preparing to handle it better because when you have simulation and the drills many persons take it seriously but some don’t, but this was the real thing, so happily it is not more serious. So we will take the lessons learnt from this and incorporate it into our drills,” he said.

In the meantime, he credited the staff and those who were in attendance for following the protocol and exiting the court after the tremor.

While persons waited on the outside, the registrar was heard on the microphone giving instructions for persons to remain where they are as checks were made to account for everyone who was inside before the building was thoroughly checked and persons were allowed back inside.

Meanwhile, Deputy Superintendent in charge of the facilities at the Supreme Court Alfred McDonald reported that all the prisoners were safe and accounted for as well as their holding area.

In terms of the building, he said only two courtrooms suffered minor structural damage to the roof.

tanesha.mundle@gleanerjm.com