# Presentation: 315874

## TsunamiReadyTM 

***Working Together to Save Lives***

***NOAA’s National Weather Service***
***Silver Spring, MD. ***

**Notes:**
Self introduction and introduction of topic.

## Outline

**Tsunami 101**
**Tsunami Detection and Warning **
**TsunamiReady****TM**

## Tsunami 101

**Notes:**
Tsunami 101:
Tsunamis are a series of traveling ocean waves of extremely long length generated primarily by earthquakes occurring below or near the ocean floor.  Underwater volcanic eruptions and landslides can also generate tsunamis. 

A tsunami is a series of ocean waves generated by any rapid large-scale disturbance of the sea water. Most tsunamis are generated by earthquakes, but they may also be caused by volcanic eruptions, landslides, undersea slumps or meteor impacts.

The waves radiate outward in all directions from the disturbance and can propagate across entire ocean basins. For example, in 1960 an earthquake in Chile caused a tsunami that swept across the Pacific to Japan. Tsunami waves are distinguished from ordinary ocean waves by their great length between peaks, often exceeding 100 miles in the deep ocean, and by the long amount of time between these peaks, ranging from five minutes to an hour. The speed at which tsunamis travel depends on the ocean depth. A tsunami can exceed 500 mph in the deep ocean but slows to 20 or 30 mph in the shallow water near land. In less than 24 hours, a tsunami can cross the entire Pacific Ocean.

In the deep ocean, a tsunami is barely noticeable and will only cause a small and slow rising and falling of the sea surface as it passes. Only as it approaches land does a tsunami become a hazard. As the tsunami approaches land and shallow water, the waves slow down and become compressed, causing them to grow in height. In the best of cases, the tsunami comes onshore like a quickly rising tide and causes a gentle flooding of low-lying coastal areas.

In the worst of cases, a bore will form. A bore is a wall of turbulent water that can be several meters high and can rush onshore with great destructive power. Behind the bore is a deep and fast-moving flood that can pick up and sweep away almost anything in its path, such as what happened in Papua New Guinea in 1998 when more than 2,000 people were killed and villages destroyed. Minutes later, the water will drain away as the trough of the tsunami wave arrives, sometimes exposing great patches of the sea floor. But then the water will rush in again as before, causing additional damage.

This destructive cycle may repeat many times before the hazard finally passes. Persons caught in the path of a tsunami have little chance to survive. They can be easily crushed by debris or they may simply drown. Children and the elderly are particularly at risk, as they have less mobility, strength and endurance.

Tsunamis typically cause the most severe damage and casualties very near their source. There the waves are highest because they have not yet lost much energy to friction or spreading. In addition, the nearby coastal population, often disoriented from the violent earthquake shaking, has little time to react before the tsunami arrives. The largest tsunamis, however, can cause destruction and casualties over a wide area, sometimes as wide as the entire Pacific Basin. These types of Pacific-wide tsunamis may happen only a few times each century.

In the deep ocean, the tsunami waves propagate across the deep ocean with a speed exceeding approx. 500 miles per hour and wave height of only about 1 foot or less.  They may not be felt by ships at sea.   

As they reach the shallow waters of the coast, the waves slow down and the water can pile up rapidly into a wall of destruction 30 ft or more in height.  Sometimes, coastal waters are drawn out into the ocean just before the tsunami strikes.  When this occurs. More shoreline may be exposed than even at the lowest tide.  This major withdrawal of the sea should be taken as a warning of the tsunami waves that will follow.

Tsunami wave energy extends from the surface to the bottom in even the deepest waters.  As the tsunami attacks the coastline, the wave energy is compressed into a much shorter distance and a much shallower depth, creating destructive, life-threatening waves.

## Tsunami 101

## Indian Ocean TsunamiDecember 26, 2004

**Notes:**
The undersea 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake that occurred on December 26, 2004 produced tsunamis that were among the deadliest natural disasters in modern history. The tsunamis devastated the shores of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, and other countries with waves of up to 50 feet high, even reaching as far as Somalia on the east coast of Africa, 2,800 miles west of the epicenter.

Over 250,000 people are known to have died as a result of the tsunamis, and relief agencies warn of the probability of many more deaths to come as a result of disease and starvation. The plight of the many affected people and countries prompted a widespread humanitarian response.

This rare megathrust earthquake took place at 07:58:53 local time in the Indian Ocean off the western coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia. At a magnitude of 9.3, it was the largest since the 9.2-magnitude Good Friday Earthquake off Alaska in 1964, and one of the largest earthquakes recorded since 1900, when accurate global seismographic record-keeping began.

## Indian Ocean TsunamiWave Propagation in Hours

## Tsunami Detection & Warning

## How do we Detect Tsunamis?

- Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis

- DART Buoy

**Notes:**
Developed by PMEL in mid 1990’s to improve early detection in open ocean

## DART Buoy

**Notes:**
Bottom Pressure Recorder
Pressure sensor 
Acoustic link to buoy
3 cm detection threshold 
Approx. 1 mm resolution
2-year service life

2.6 Meter Surface Buoy
Dual payload
Transmits hourly via GOES
1-year service life

## Existing DART Buoys

**6 buoys in Pacific Ocean**
**funded by the NOAA National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program (red)**
** **
**2 new buoys to be deployed Summer 2005**
**1 buoy owned and operated by Chile (purple)**

## Proposed DART Buoy Expansion

## Sea Level Monitoring

**Notes:**
The U.S. has demonstrated the effectiveness of its warning system within the Pacific region. It has also demonstrated that the warning system can provide initial earthquake information to other nations and is most willing to share that information with all concerned. With national dissemination and water level networks in place, NOAA’s information can be used to mitigate future disasters. 

NOAA  oversees the U.S. Tsunami Program with its mission to provide a 24-hour detection and warning system and increase public awareness about the threat of tsunamis. NOAA’s National Weather Service operates two tsunami warning centers that continuously monitor data from seismological and tidal stations, evaluate earthquakes that have the potential to generate tsunamis and disseminate tsunami information and warning bulletins to government authorities and the public. 

NOAA’s National Weather Service operates two Tsunami Warning Centers and the International Tsunami Information Center. The West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Center in Palmer, Alaska, and the Richard H. Hagemeyer Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Ewa Beach, Hawaii, are the operational centers of a vigilant 24-hour U.S. tsunami warning system for the Pacific Rim

West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Center:  Provides tsunami warning guidance for Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and California

Richard H. Hagemeyer Pacific Tsunami Warning Center: In 1946, a tsunami originating in the Aleutian Islands struck Hawaii and more than 150 people died. The tragedy prompted the development of a warning system for Hawaii and in 1948 the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center was established. Provides tsunami warning guidance for Hawaii, for all U.S. interests in the Pacific outside the WC/ATWC area of responsibility, and for most countries in the Pacific and around its rim.  It’s a Fact -- PTWC issues a message to other observatories with a preliminary solution (earthquake coordinates, magnitude, and arrival times) for about 200 quakes per year, and issues Tsunami Information Bulletins about 20-30 times per year,  and issues Tsunami Warnings in the Pacific 1-2 times per year.

International Tsunami Information Center (ITIC):  Operated by NOAA’s National Weather Service for the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, ITIC monitors operations of the Tsunami Warning System in the Pacific and Promotes tsunami awareness and education.  

3 NOAA's National Ocean Service's (NOS) National Water Level Observation
Network (NWLON):    The NWLON  system serves as one of the fundamental observing system platforms for the NOAA tsunami warning system and it provides NOAA’s Weather Service with water level information needed for storm surge monitoring

Physical Oceanographic Real-Time Program® (PORTS®):  A decision-support tool that allows the marine community to immediately access water levels, oceanographic and meteorological data needed for safe navigation.  PORTS equipment includes Tide Gauges , meteorological equipment, air gap sensors (for shipping) and current meters.  

Tide Gauges: The NOAA Ocean Service operates an extensive network of tide gauges used by the warning centers to determine if a tsunami has been generated. 

## NOAA’s Tsunami Warning Centers

**Pacific Tsunami Warning Center - Ewa Beach, Hawaii**

**West Coast / Alaska Tsunami Warning Center – Palmer, AK**

## TsunamiReadyTM

## Why do we need TsunamiReadyTM?

**The December, 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami reminded us of the horrible devastation a tsunami can cause!**

## Why do we need TsunamiReadyTM?

- Alaska

- Hawaii

- Hawaii

- California

- Tsunamis occur in the Pacific and along the West Coast

**Notes:**
Here are some pre-program education products.  The Coast Guard facility in Kodiak, Alaska shows how high the 1964 Alaska tsunami rose.
A restaurant in Hilo Hawaii has marked two previous tsunami wave heights on a window.  You can sit and eat your dinner while thinking about that.
In Crescent City, California, the 1964 tsunami height is shown several blocks inland from the beach.  Hold your nose when the water rises again here!
And finally, the memorial stone at the old Laupahoehoe school in Hawaii records the number of teachers, children and family members killed by the 1946 Alaska tsunami.
Information about historic tsunamis is very important to preserve and display because it tells people more than what CAN happen, it tells them what HAS happened at that spot in the past.

## Tsunamis also occur in the Atlantic and Carribean

***  ******November 1, 1755 - Lisbon, Portugal ***
***  ******October 11, 1918 - Puerto Rico ***
***  ******November 18, 1929 - Newfoundland ***
***  ******August 4, 1946 - Dominican Republic ***
***  ******August 18, 1946 - Dominican Republic ***
***  ******November 14, 1840 - Great Swell on Delaware River ***
***  ******November 17, 1872 - Maine ***
***  ******January 9, 1926 - Maine ***
***  ******May 19, 1964 - Northeast USA ***_***POSSIBLE TSUNAMI***_
***  ******June 9, 1913 - Longport, NJ ***
***  ******August 6, 1923 - Rockaway Park, Queens, NY ***
***  ******August 8, 1924 - Coney Island, NY***
***  ******August 19, 1931 - Atlantic City, NJ ***
***  ******September 21, 1938 - Hurricane, NJ coast***
***  ******July 3-4, 1992 - Daytona Beach, FL ***
***  ******Asteroid Strikes - Toms Canyon, NJ and mouth of Chesapeake Bay ***

**www.erh.noaa.gov/er/phi/reports/tsunami.htm **

## What is TsunamiReadyTM?

***“******Grass roots”***** program that promotes tsunami hazard readiness.**
**Collaborative effort between federal, state, and local emergency management, and the public.**
**Improve public safety during tsunami emergencies.**
**Prepares communities for tsunami hazard.**
**Part of the NWS StormReady Program.**

**Notes:**
TsunamiReadyTM is part of the NWS StormReady Program.

Just like StormReady -- TsunamiReadyTM communities are better prepared to save lives from severe weather.

When communities partner with the NWS, it requires hard work, time, resources, and energy.

TsunamiReadyTM recognizes communities for their efforts.

Emergency Managers and citizens are proud of their TsunamiReadyTM recognition.

## As of March, 2006 there are 27 TsunamiReadyTM Communities in 7 States

** **
**  ****Alaska**
**  ****Hawaii**
**  ****Washington**
**  ****Oregon**
**  ****California**** **

## TsunamiReadyTM Objectives

**Create minimum standard community guidelines for adequate tsunami readiness. **
**Increase public awareness and understanding of tsunami hazard. **
**Improve community pre-planning for tsunami disasters****.**
**Encourage consistency in educational materials and response. **
**Recognize communities that have adopted TsunamiReadyTM guidelines. **

**Notes:**
This slide illustrates the 5 main objectives of the NWS TsunamiReadyTM Program.  They are...(read slide).

Notice the emphasis on standards, consistency, and advanced planning.

These attributes are key to a community successfully being recognized in the TsunamiReadyTM program. 

## TsunamiReadyTM Benefits

**Community is better prepared for***** “all hazards.”*****                         **
**Increase contacts with experts (emergency managers, researchers, academia, NWS).**
**Identify community readiness needs.**
**Host regularly scheduled education forums.**
**Enhance “core” infrastructure to support other  community hazards.**
**Allow public to see how tax dollars are being spent.**

**Notes:**
There are many benefits to a community becoming TsunamiReadyTM.

In addition to being better prepared for the Tsunami hazard, a community will be better prepared for “all types of hazards,” whether they are natural, like Tsunamis and Hurricanes, or technological like HAZMAT spills or Terrorism.

## How does a Communitybecome TsunamiReadyTM?

***Establish Communication and Coordination Plan***
**24 Hour Warning Point**
**Emergency Operations Center**
***Receive Critical Tsunami Warning Information***
**NOAA Weather Radio**
**NOAA Weather Wire**
**Emergency Managers Weather Information Network**
**News Media (Radio/TV)**
**Internet**
**Pagers, cell phones, etc.**

**Notes:**
The TsunamiReadyTM program has established guidelines that a community must meet to be officially recognized in the program.

There are five major areas that the program addresses.

The first area is: Establish Communication and Coordination Plans.  The second is: Receive Critical Tsunami Warning Information.

As you can see from this slide, communication is the key to receiving critical NWS warnings.

## How does a Communitybecome TsunamiReadyTM?

***Disseminate Tsunami Warnings***
**Emergency Alert System **
**Cable Override **
**NOAA Weather Radio in public buildings**
**Sirens**
**Other systems unique to area**

**Notes:**
In addition to being able to receive NWS warnings, a community must also have more than one way to disseminate the warning to the public.

Quick dissemination of NWS warnings is crucial to the success of the TsunamiReadyTM program, because lives can be lost if the public does not receive the warning in a timely and effective manner.

This slide illustrates several ways that a community could disseminate a Tsunami Warning that was issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

## How does a Communitybecome TsunamiReadyTM?

*** ******Increase Community Preparedness***
**NWS staff provide Tsunami safety presentations**
**Designate safe areas outside of inundation zone**
**Establish tsunami evacuation areas, evacuation routes, and install evacuation route signs**
**Provide written, locality specific, tsunami hazard response material to public**
***Schools: ***encourage tsunami hazard curriculum, practice evacuations if located inside inundation area, provide safety material to staff and students

**Notes:**
Public education and training is also a major part of the TsunamiReadyTM program.

NWS field WCMs visit the community and provide tsunami and weather safety presentations to both the public and emergency managers.

Local communities must also do their part and designate safe zone for Tsunamis, map out evacuation routes, install evacuation route signs, and provide this information to the public and schools.

## How does a Communitybecome TsunamiReadyTM?

*** ******Administrative***
**Develop formal tsunami hazard operations plan**
**Yearly meeting/discussion by emergency manager with NWS**
**Visits by NWS official to community at least every other year**** **

**Notes:**
Finally, the TsunamiReadyTM program addresses what we call “administrative” preparedness.

A community must have a formal Tsunami hazard operations plan in place in order to be recognized.

Developing close partnerships between the NWS office and emergency managers – before the disaster occurs -- becomes critical during real weather emergencies.

Emergency managers are required to visit their local NWS office at least once a year.

NWS staff are required to visit emergency managers at least every other year.

However, if the local NWS office has established a close partnership with the local emergency manager, these visits can take place much more often.

## TsunamiReadyTM RecognitionProcess

**Community applies to local NOAA NWS Office.**
**Local TsunamiReadyTM Advisory Board reviews application.**
**Local TsunamiReadyTM Advisory Board performs on-site verification visit.**
**If guidelines are not met, Local TsunamiReadyTM Advisory Board suggests improvements and works to implement changes.**
**Once guidelines are met, a recognition Ceremony and Press Conference is held for community.**

**Notes:**
This slide illustrates how a community becomes recognized in the TsunamiReadyTM program.  Let me provide you with some background...

There are Advisory Boards that implement and oversee the Storm/TsunamiReadyTM programs.  Advisory Boards are set up on a national, regional, and local basis.

The National StormReady Advisory Board is responsible for general oversight of the StormReady and TsunamiReadyTM programs.  The National Board maintains a minimum set of guidelines that is consistent across the country. 

Each of the NWS’s six regional offices have Regional StormReady Advisory Boards and the Western, Alaska and Pacific regions have TsunamiReadyTM Advisory Boards.  Regional StormReady Advisory Boards monitor the activities of local boards and ensure the national guidelines are maintained.

Local StormReady Advisory Boards enhance the programs to fit local and state situations. Each local board consists of at least:

	1 - NWS office Meteorologist in Charge
	1 - NWS office Warning Coordination Meteorologist
	1 - State emergency management agency director or designee
	1 - Local emergency management association president or designee
      1 – Geophysicist in Charge from the Tsunami Warning Center

The local board oversees all steps leading to the recognition of the StormReady and/or TsunamiReadyTM community.  This may include developing bylaws for the board’s activities, enhancing the national guidelines for the local area, establishing procedures for verification visits, and implementing procedures for application review.

## Successful Applicants Receive:

**TsunamiReadyTM recognition letter valid for 3 years.**
**Two official TsunamiReadyTM signs.**
**Authorization to use the TsunamiReadyTM logo.**
**Instructions for acquiring additional signs.**
**Listing on StormReady, Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, and West Coast / Alaska Tsunami Warning Center Web sites.**** **

**Notes:**
Here’s what successful applicants will receive.

Most importantly – the community will be better prepared to respond to a NOAA Tsunami Warning or other weather warning.

This preparedness is what will ultimately save lives if there is a real Tsunami or other weather emergency.

## TsunamiReadyTM RenewalProcess

**NWS Office sends notification letter to communities that need to re-apply with 6 months advance notice. **
**A copy of the original application is reviewed by community officials to certify it is still accurate.**
**Community provides an updated list of any new technology or information that has been added since the initial application was signed.**
**Once the community official signs and returns the application a 3-year renewal becomes effective.**

**Notes:**
A jurisdictions initial Tsunami/StormReady recognition is valid for a 3 year period.

After this time, their application must once again be reviewed by the local advisory board.

If program criteria are still met, the community recognition will be renewed for an additional 3 year period.

## TsunamiReadyTM Contact Information

***Contact your local Warning Coordination Meteorologist by going to NWS TsunamiReadyTM page.***
***Click on Local Contacts***

*www.tsunamiready.noaa.gov*

## TsunamiReadyTM Contact Information

***Click on your State for local contact information***

*www.tsunamiready.noaa.gov*

## Web Resources

**  ****NWS TsunamiReadyTM Page: ****www.tsunamiready.noaa.gov**
** ****Tsunami Warning Centers Page: ****www.tsunami.gov**
** **
** ****NOAA Tsunami Page:  ****www.tsunami.noaa.gov**
** **
** ****NWS StormReady Page: ****www.stormready.noaa.gov**
** **

**Notes:**
There is also a wealth of Tsunami information available on these four web sites.

Jurisdiction interested in becoming TsunamiReadyTM can find all the information they need here.