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In classrooms and on the playground, elementary and middle school students go about their business. Unlike their teachers, they have no idea that an evacuation drill is about to begin at any moment. This is part of CaribWave 2026, an exercise designed to test emergency alert systems in the event of a natural disaster. In this case, on Thursday, March 19, 2026, the scenario is a tsunami. It is 2:30 p.m., and the sirens suddenly let out a shrill wail. The drill has begun.
In the courtyard of the Gustavia school complex, students stream out of their classrooms in groups. Under their teacher’s guidance, they gather and march in single file toward the gate, which is already open. As they step out onto the street, they can see the preschoolers, hand in hand and linked by a rope, walking toward the tsunami shelter located on the hills above Gustavia. Across the street from the schools, the middle school students from Mireille Choisy are also already on their way. In total, nearly 800 children are participating in the CaribWave drill. In about ten minutes, everyone managed to reach the two evacuation zones. Much to the satisfaction of the exercise coordinator, Eden Gréaux, who involved the prefecture, the Territorial Fire and Rescue Service (STIS), the gendarmerie, the territorial police, the Collectivité’s departments, and, of course, the schools in Gustavia. Not to mention the researchers from the University of Montpellier who helped develop the Safe Saint-Barth system, whose website compiles all the information and data needed to understand and assess the natural risks that could threaten the island.
The preschoolers walk hand in hand, connected by a rope, toward the tsunami shelter.
An effective FR Alert system
Eden Gréaux, the territorial technical assistant for civil protection, gives CaribWave a “great review.” “The system worked well; the students reached the shelter in ten minutes, without panicking and following instructions—there are only a few details to tweak,” she summarizes. In addition, the sirens worked well in Gustavia as well as in Saint-Jean. This is an opportunity to note that alert systems will be installed over the next three years in other neighborhoods on the island.
Furthermore, as the island’s residents were able to observe, the FR Alert system—which notifies smartphone users when an alert is triggered—also functioned perfectly. Comments submitted via an online questionnaire after the drill yielded 410 responses in Saint Barthélemy (and 621 in Saint Martin), notably reporting, in a few isolated cases, that the alert message was not received. “This is due to poor reception related to the carrier and a missing update,” explains Eden Gréaux, adding: “Most of the feedback concerns this failure to receive the message, but also the language in which the alert message is written.” In fact, for now, the message is sent in French and English. “We’re working on making it available in Portuguese as well,” notes the scientist, who nevertheless emphasizes the quality of “the FR Alert system’s coverage across the entire territory.” Furthermore, nearly 60% of those who responded to the questionnaire indicated that they would have liked to have a link to an evacuation plan directly within the alert message. In Saint Barthélemy, this tool already exists: it is an interactive map available on the Safe St-Barth project website. Last year, the link to it was shared via social media during the drill.
Eden Gréaux (center) with the prefect’s representative and the director of the Gustavia school district.
Professional Development Workshops
On Monday, March 23, crisis management workshops were held at the STIS fire station in Saint-Jean (which also houses the Territorial Operations Center and Civil Protection). Under the guidance of scientists from Safe Saint-Barth and specialists from RisCrises, elected officials and staff from the Collectivité participated in creating scenario-based exercises simulating hurricane and tsunami risks. “This will allow us to review the fundamentals of our crisis management,” says Eden Gréaux. “It is important to practice preventing all risks while staying as close to reality as possible.” With the next hurricane season just a few months away, exploring every detail that could lead to improvements in the systems already in place can only be beneficial.
