NOAA’s Tsunami Program

2008–2017 

Strategic Plan

July 2008

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Washington, DC 20230
Prepared by the NOAA Tsunami Strategic Planning Team:

Eddie Bernard

Chris Maier

Charles Mccreery

Susan McLean

Jenifer Rhoades

Paul Whitmore
NOAA’s Tsunami Program 2008–2017 Strategic Plan iii

Table of Contents

Executive Summary.......................................................................................................... 1

Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 3

Customers and Partners.................................................................................................... 6

 Customers..................................................................................................................... 6

 Partners......................................................................................................................... 6

10-year Strategy................................................................................................................ 8

 Tsunami Forecasting and Warning ............................................................................... 9

 National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program .......................................................... 12

 Tsunami Research....................................................................................................... 13

 Global Tsunami Warning and Mitigation Network .................................................... 14

 Tsunami Warning and Education Act Extension Activities........................................ 15

 

Implementation Strategy ................................................................................................ 17

Appendix 1. Draft Tsunami Program Performance Indicators....................................... 18

Appendix 2. Tsunami Program Legislative Authorities ................................................. 21

Appendix 3. Strategic Plan Reference Documents......................................................... 23

Appendix 4. Alignment to NOAA’s Weather and Water Goal Team Strategic Goals.... 24

Appendix 5. Alignment to 33 U.S.C. §§ 3201 et seq., Tsunami Warning 

 and Education Act....................................................................................................... 26

Appendix 6. Acronyms................................................................................................... 28

Appendix 7. State, Territorial, and Commonwealth Partners......................................... 30

 
iv NOAA’s Tsunami Program 2008–2017 Strategic Plan

NOAA’s Tsunami Mission is to provide reliable 

tsunami forecasts and warnings, and to promote 

community resilience.

Our Vision is for the United States to become 

a tsunami-resilient Nation by minimizing the loss 

of life and disruption to economically vital coastal 

communities from future tsunamis.
NOAA’s Tsunami Program 2008–2017 Strategic Plan 1

Executive Summary

Tsunamis are high impact, low frequency natural hazards. It is not a question of if, but when tsunamis 

of high impact will occur, causing considerable numbers of fatalities, inflicting major damage to 

infrastructure, and resulting in significant social upheaval, economic disruption, and environmental 

degradation to large sections of the United States’ coastline. Since 1900, over 200 tsunami events (mostly 

earthquake-generated) have affected the coasts of the United States and its territories, causing more than 

500 deaths. Economic disruption as a result of a major tsunami damaging the ports of Los Angeles and 

Long Beach, California, is estimated at $1 Billion each day the ports are closed (Borrero et al. 2005). 

The 53 percent of the U.S. population living in coastal communities in 2003 (Crosset et al. 2004) and at 

risk from the impacts of a destructive tsunami has grown by 7 million today and is expected to grow by 

12 million by 2015. It is estimated that our Nation’s coastal communities contribute 60 percent of our 

Nation’s Gross Domestic Product. As the trend continues for coastal economic growth and population 

density increases, the risk of death and economic damage will climb. In addition, a major ocean-wide 

tsunami will affect many nations and can have global impact. 

The Tsunami Warning and Education Act (33 U.S.C. §§ 3201 et seq.) specifies the National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as the lead agency responsible for operating the U.S. Tsunami 

Warning System, and for providing technical assistance and training to the Global Tsunami Warning 

System. NOAA will report to Congress on U.S. Tsunami Warning System capabilities. NOAA is 

responsible for organizing the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program (NTHMP), and conducting a 

tsunami research program.

A sustained national tsunami effort will result in the following outcomes:

• Timely and accurate tsunami forecast and warning products

• Tsunami products that are understandable and usable

• Resilient communities inhabited by a public educated to take appropriate actions

• A sustainable NOAA Tsunami Program populated by dedicated and properly trained staff

• Reliable and coordinated data, communications, and dissemination infrastructure, and the 

capability to acquire and exchange relevant tsunami data and information that supports the 

tsunami mission

• Interdisciplinary science and research results leading to more effective and affordable tsunami 

warning and mitigation products and services

• Technical assistance, training, and capacity development both at global and regional levels, 

supporting the fully operational tsunami warning system

• Integration with other relevant national, regional, and global ocean and coastal observation, 

warning, mitigation, and risk management systems.

In June 2005, NOAA established a Tsunami Program to address national tsunami priorities, coordinate 

with national and international partners, and deploy and manage an enhanced observational network to 

improve warnings and mitigate the loss of life and damage to property as a result of tsunamis. This plan 

describes the 10-year strategy to accomplish these goals. 
2 NOAA’s Tsunami Program 2008–2017 Strategic Plan
NOAA’s Tsunami Program 2008–2017 Strategic Plan 3

Introduction

Tsunamis can disrupt our Nation’s economy. The 2004 Sumatra tsunami killed nearly 250,000 people 

and caused more than $10 Billion in economic losses to the Asian economy (Munich Re, 2005). 

This was a stark reminder of the catastrophic impacts that can result from this hazard. On our West 

Coast, there is a geological feature similar to the fault systems off Sumatra. Estimates of the cost of 

economic disruption as a result of a major tsunami damaging a port on the West Coast are significant. 

For example, costs to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, California, are estimated to be 

$1 billion each day the ports are closed (Borrero, 2005); this estimate does not include a repair of 

infrastructure. Economic impacts due to the tsunami hazard will increase in the coming decades based 

on U.S. coastal demographics.

This strategic plan describes the long-term vision for NOAA’s Tsunami Program, objectives for the 

next 10 years (2008–2017), and efficient and effective strategies to achieve the desired outcomes. 

Achieving these outcomes will ensure continued delivery and advancement of the world’s most 

accurate and reliable tsunami warning and mitigation system, and will improve the tsunami-resilience 

of coastal communities.

This strategic plan promotes ongoing planning and implementation, led by NOAA’s Tsunami 

Program, to develop and sustain efforts to manage tsunami risk reduction and improve overall 

coastal community resiliency through a multi-hazard approach. NOAA, with the U.S. Geological 

Survey (USGS), recently completed a U.S. National Tsunami Hazard Assessment identifying areas 

of the U.S. coastlines most likely to experience tsunamis. A risk-based tsunami strategic plan, as 

recommended by the Government Accountability Office, requires additional documentation of 

historic and pre-historic tsunamis for all U.S. coastlines. The plan also requires the latest scientific 

data on structural integrity of buildings to understand the interaction of tsunamis with both the manmade and natural environment.

NOAA’s Tsunami Program is comprised of five overarching capabilities: hazard assessment, warning 

guidance, mitigation, research, and international cooperation and intergovernmental coordination. 

This includes monitoring and observation systems and interdisciplinary research. With its partners, 

NOAA also promotes tsunami warning guidance, modeling, and mitigation efforts such as outreach 

and preparedness (public education and training), for U.S. communities at risk. 

The Tsunami Program contributes to NOAA’s goal to serve society’s needs for weather and water 

information. The Program’s main goal is to protect life and property from a tsunami hazard. NOAA 

accomplishes this goal by providing timely, accurate, reliable, and effective tsunami forecast and 

warning products to coastal populations and emergency responders within the Tsunami Warning 

System (TWS) Area of Responsibility (AOR). 
4 NOAA’s Tsunami Program 2008–2017 Strategic Plan

The primary operational tasks are to rapidly locate, size, and otherwise characterize tsunami sources, 

forecast coastal inundation, and assess potential impacts. The TWS provides guidance and graphical 

products to emergency responders and citizens, allowing them to make well-informed decisions. A 

robust tsunami mitigation system relies on the free and open exchange and long-term management of 

high quality data, including real-time observational and retrospective data. 

The Program involves the activity of more than one NOAA Line and Staff Office. The Program 

includes two tsunami warning centers (TWC): the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) in Ewa 

Beach, Hawaii, and the West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Center in Palmer, Alaska. These centers 

work in cooperation with other NOAA units, such as:

• National Weather Service (NWS):

Weather Forecast Offices (WFO)

National Data Buoy Center

Regional Support and Specialized Centers

International Tsunami Information Center (ITIC)

• National Ocean Service (NOS):

 Center for Operational and Oceanographic Products and Services

Coastal Services Center including Pacific Service Center

 National Geodetic Survey

Office of Coast Survey

Office of Ocean and Coastal and Resource Management

• Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR):

Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL)

Office of Ocean Exploration

 Cooperative Research Institutes

• National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS): 

National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) and co-located 

World Data Centers (WDC)

 Cooperative Research Institutes

• Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO)

• NOAA’s Office of International Affairs

• Office of Satellite Data Processing and Distribution

Each collaboration is crucial to mission performance. NOAA’s Tsunami Program is not only matrixed 

across NOAA, but also is dependent upon its partnerships with other Federal, State, and international 

agencies.
NOAA’s Tsunami Program 2008–2017 Strategic Plan 5

Figure 1. Tsunami Program Matrix. 

NOAA Tsunami Program Matrix

NWS OAR NOS OMAO

Line Offices

Weather & Water Goal

Tsunami 

Program

Capabilities

Warning & Forecast 

Analysis & Notification

Modeling and Mapping (tsunami source, propagation, coastal elevation and inundation)

Assessments (exposure and vulnerability, historical event records, social and economic impacts)

Capacity Building; Standards & Guidelines; Coastal Resilience

Hazard 

Assessment

Warning Guidance

Bottom Pressure 

(Tsunami) Detection

Sea- level Monitoring, 

Inundation Detection

Detection System 

O&M Support

Mitigation and 

Preparedness

Research

International 

Coordination

Tsunami Science, Modeling & Mapping, Sensors, Detection and Prediction, Ocean Exploration

Inter-governmental (IOC, WMO, ISDR, GEO ...): Hazard Mapping; Technology Transfer and 

Education, Data/Information Exchange, Observations and Communication, Standards, & Policy

Earthquake Detection

Coordination (Federal-State-Local-Tribal) for Community-Based Education, Outreach, & Planning

Geophysical & 

Oceanographic Data 

Management and 

Long-term Archive

NESDIS

Interagency (USGS, FEMA, NSF, DOS/USAID, ...): Hazard and Risk Assessment, Coastal-Ocean 

Observations, Data Management, Direct Foreign Assistance, Capacity Building, and Foreign Policy

Data Management & 

Communications

Water Current & 

Geodetic Reference 

Aerial and Ship

Coastal Survey

Hazard Awareness & Integrated Coastal Area Management

Technology Transfer, Transition & Training

Warning & Forecast 

Development

Ocean-Data Management and Communications

NOAA Tsunami Program Matrix
6 NOAA’s Tsunami Program 2008–2017 Strategic Plan

Customers and Partners

Customers

NOAA’s Tsunami Program serves, either directly or indirectly, all people of the United States. 

Coastal residents, visitors to our coasts, and people who make decisions for coastal communities are 

our primary customers.

Primary customers:

• Coastal residents and visitors

• State and county emergency managers

• Businesses in tsunami-prone areas

• Local and tribal emergency responders

• Local and tribal land use/planning authorities

• Members of the private sector and academia involved in tsunami resiliency and research

• U.S. Government agencies (e.g., military)

• State Departments of Education and Free Choice Learning Institutions

• Other nations’ National Tsunami Focal Points

Partners

A tsunami-resilient Nation can be achieved only by cooperative efforts of multiple agencies, 

organizations, and individuals across the Nation. We value our relationships with other Federal, 

State, and local agencies and organizations, although our missions may differ. We recognize that 

traditional partners—Pacific States and agencies responsible for preparedness, mitigation, response 

and recovery, and land use guidance—have been key to past successes and remain essential to future 

progress toward tsunami resiliency. Partnerships will be expanded to work toward common goals 

of an accurate and reliable tsunami warning and mitigation system and tsunami-resilient coastal 

communities.

Primary U.S. partners:

• NTHMP member agencies, States, Territories, and Commonwealths

• National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program led by Department of Commerce’s National 

Institute of Standards and Technology, other member agencies, States, Territories, and 

Commonwealths

• National Emergency Management (NEMA) members and local, State, Territorial, and 

Commonwealth emergency management agencies

• Integrated Ocean Observation System (IOOS) member agencies and regional alliances

• Department of Interior, Advanced National Seismic System and National Earthquake 

Information Center

• National Science Foundation (NSF), Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology 

(IRIS), including regional seismic networks and the Global Seismic Network
NOAA’s Tsunami Program 2008–2017 Strategic Plan 7

• Department of Homeland Security: Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and 

the U.S. Coast Guard

• Nuclear Regulatory Commission

• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

• Department of State: Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific 

Affairs, U.S. Office of Disaster Assistance, and U.S. Agency for International Development 

(USAID)

• American Meteorological Society

• American Geophysical Union

• Universities and scientific organizations

• Media

In addition, NOAA’s Tsunami Program provides international warning, training, and data exchange 

assistance. 

Primary international partners

• United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

• UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (UNESCO/IOC), including the 

ITIC and PTWC hosted by NOAA

• United Nations World Meteorological Organization (WMO)

• World Meteorological Organization (WMO)/Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission 

(IOC) Joint Commission for Marine Meteorology

• International Council for Science (ICSU) and its system of WDCs, including the WDC for 

Solid Earth Geophysics

• United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

• IOC/WMO/ICSU/UNEP Global Ocean Observing System and its components, including the 

Global Sea Level System and Data Buoy Co-operation Panel

• United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction (ISDR)

• World Bank

• United Nations Development Programme

• United Nations University

• Group on Earth Observations (GEO)

• International Union of Geology and Geophysics—International Association of Seismology 

and Physics of the Earth’s Interior, including the Tsunami Commission and Federation of 

Digital Broadband Seismograph Networks

• International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM)

• Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization
8 NOAA’s Tsunami Program 2008–2017 Strategic Plan

10-Year Strategy

NOAA’s Tsunami Program has defined outcomes necessary to achieve the basic mission to minimize 

the threat to life and property due to tsunamis. 

• Timely and accurate tsunami forecast and warning products

• Tsunami products that are understandable and usable

• Resilient communities inhabited by a public that is educated to take appropriate actions

• A sustainable Tsunami Program staffed by dedicated and properly trained individuals

• Reliable and coordinated data, communications, and dissemination infrastructure that 

supports the Tsunami Program

• Interdisciplinary science and research results leading to more effective and affordable tsunami 

warning and mitigation products and services

• Technical assistance, training, and capacity development both at global and regional levels, 

supporting the fully operational tsunami warning system

• Integration with other relevant national, regional, and global ocean and coastal observation, 

warning, mitigation, and risk management systems.

• Effective networks to disseminate tsunami information to the public through partnerships 

with formal and informal education entities

The Tsunami Warning and Education Act (33 U.S.C. §§ 3201 et seq.) defines the architecture of 

NOAA’s Tsunami Program. The Act helps strengthen the Nation’s tsunami warning system by: 

improving and utilizing NOAA’s mapping, modeling, and research efforts; ensuring that data and 

findings are available; supporting increased education and outreach efforts; and improving both 

domestic and international coordination. The authorization of appropriation provided by the Act is 

effective through FY 2012 (33 U.S.C. § 3207). The following 10-year strategy is designed to ensure 

the goals of the Act are met and the Act is reauthorized.

NOAA’s Tsunami Program, working with our partners, will focus expertise on warning guidance, 

research, preparedness, assistance with mitigation efforts, and international coordination. Over 

the next 10 years, the Program will employ strengthening strategies in five key areas to ensure the 

outcomes identified above:

1. Tsunami forecasting and warning

2. National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program

3. Tsunami research

4. Global Tsunami Warning and Mitigation Network

5. Tsunami Warning and Education Act extension activities
NOAA’s Tsunami Program 2008–2017 Strategic Plan 9

Tsunami Forecasting and Warning

To meet the requirements of 33 U.S.C. § 3203 to operate a program that provides 

tsunami detection, forecasting, and warnings for the Pacific and Arctic regions 

and for the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico regions, we 

will:

Ensure adequate and sustainable staff levels

The Tsunami Program’s greatest resource is its staff. To ensure a sustainable system, adequate staff 

must be available at NWS, TWCs, NWS WFOs, OAR/PMEL, NOS, and NESDIS/NGDC. The 

Tsunami Program recommends the following:

• Maintain a dedicated program management office

• Maintain a full-time, knowledgeable NTHMP Manager

• Sustain a sufficient workforce necessary to achieve our mission

• Establish job enrichment and growth opportunities for current and new NOAA employees to 

maintain technical excellence 

Ensure reliable and sufficient operational data collection, dissemination, analysis, and 

product dissemination

The TWCs must be able to respond to any type of tsunami-genic source (e.g., earthquakes, landslides, 

volcanic eruptions, etc.). The ability to deliver timely tsunami forecasts and warnings is dependent 

upon the TWCs’ ability to acquire, process, and analyze various data types and deliver information 

to our customers and partners in the least amount of time possible. The NWS WFOs and program 

partners provide a key component of successful tsunami warning and forecast dissemination and 

outreach/education. Through the Strengthen Tsunami Warning System Supplemental of 2005, our 

TWCs’ ability to respond to tsunami events was enhanced. Our TWCs now operate on a 24/7 basis 

and have increased access to seismic and sea-level (coastal and deep-sea) information from a variety 

of national and international sources; however, more must be done to ensure the TWCs will further 

improve the timeliness, accuracy, and dissemination of tsunami products. To achieve this objective, 

the following actions must be taken:

• Implement techniques to identify non-tectonic sources

• Expand sea level monitoring so that non-seismic source waves can be observed 

prior to impact

• Monitor critical observing networks, establish performance standards, and develop a 

reporting protocol with data providers (e.g., USGS and NTHMP)

• Complete upgrades of Alaska and Hawaii seismic and sea level networks

• Ensure interoperability of the TWCs
10 NOAA’s Tsunami Program 2008–2017 Strategic Plan

• Enhance data collection and processing/analysis capability

• Improve tsunami products and dissemination (e.g., implement Common-Alerting 

Protocol)

• Maintain all existing and future water level monitoring infrastructure and communication 

platforms (NOS, TWCs, University of Hawaii Sea Level Center)

Improve product utility and accuracy to customers

An effective TWS is dependent not only on the ability of our TWCs to forecast tsunamis and warn the 

public but also upon the public receiving, understanding, and responding appropriately to our forecast 

warning products. NWS WFOs disseminate warnings and forecasts via NOAA Weather Radio 

All Hazards and the Emergency Alert System and coordinate with emergency managers. NOAA’s 

Tsunami Program is committed to ensuring all customers can receive, understand, and respond 

appropriately to our forecast and warning products. To improve our product utility and accuracy, we 

will:

• Address customer-driven product requirements (e.g., site-specific warnings, connection of 

economic impacts to warning performance)

• Tailor products to a specific emergency manager response so that the products issued lead to 

appropriate community responses

• Enhance graphical products with geographic information systems capability

• Work with the Operations Subcommittee of the NTHMP and NOAA’s Local Forecasts and 

Warning and Science and Technology Infusion Programs to develop next generation products

• Strengthen partnerships with formal and informal entities

Ensure integration of data and information systems

To provide tsunami forecasts and warnings, NOAA relies on real-time access to global data including 

seismic, Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunami (DARTTM) Stations, and coastal water 

level (tide gauge) data. Some of these monitoring networks operate in support of a variety of 

applications, including tsunami forecast and warning. For example, coastal tide stations operated 

by NOS are multi-purpose stations, providing both real-time and long-term water level data, with 

an established set of standards, deliverables, and operating procedures. The observations required 

to meet the Tsunami Program’s performance measures are documented in the NOAA Consolidated 

Observation Requirements List database. Each observation requirement is associated with the 

performance measures it supports, providing direct traceability to the Program’s outcomes.

As the number and source of observing systems expand, so does the need for protocols at hardware, 

firmware, and higher levels to ensure interoperability at the TWCs. In addition to the real-time 

data, tsunami history and pre-event modeling are taken into account when determining the extent of 

tsunami risk and potential impact, requiring exchange and coordination on past event data worldwide. 
NOAA’s Tsunami Program 2008–2017 Strategic Plan 11

Full and open access to these data is essential for tsunami forecasts and warnings, research, and 

hazard mitigation and community resilience efforts. The diversity of data formats, management 

systems, models, and visualization tools complicate the processing, management, and accessibility 

of tsunami-related data. This diversity limits the reuse of, and access to the data, making it labor 

intensive to increase knowledge of marine and coastal processes and risks associated with these 

environments.

To ensure interoperability and integration of data and information systems, NOAA will:

• Encourage all nations to support full and open exchange of data

• Encourage use of common protocols and formats for real-time and retrospective data

• Participate in appropriate data and information standards development

• Develop standards-based Web services.

• Integrate TWC water level data into the respective archive at NGDC

NOAA will support and use data description and distribution methods based on national and 

international standards and will complement the activities of IOOS through its Data Management and 

Communications (DMAC) subsystem. The IOOS DMAC subsystem will provide data standards, 

protocols, and infrastructure linking the global and coastal observing components and enhancing 

the quality and compatibility of resulting data and information products. Using standards enables 

integration and sharing of data, as required under 33 U.S.C. § 3203 (d)(2)(F) of the Tsunami Warning 

and Education Act. The type of protocols supported include, but are not limited to the OpenGIS Web 

Map, Feature, and Coverage Services: Web Map Service, Web Feature Service, and Web Coverage 

Service. Other standards will be the World Wide Web Consortium Simple Object Access Protocol 

and Extensible Markup Language for delivery of retrospective data. 

Using these standards-based methods, we can maximize our ability to deliver data and information 

to users and systems in a manner supporting integration with other data and services. Our efforts in 

operational data collection and information integration will support and conform to IOOS and Global 

Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) data management standards.
12 NOAA’s Tsunami Program 2008–2017 Strategic Plan

National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program

To meet the requirements of 33 U.S.C. § 3204 to conduct a community-based 

tsunami hazard mitigation program to improve tsunami preparedness of at-risk 

areas in the United States and its territories we will:

Promote community preparedness and resilience

Integrating NOAA’s hazard prediction and response activities will help the Nation’s increasingly 

vulnerable coastal communities to prepare for, respond to, and rebound from natural disasters 

(Advancing NOAA’s Priorities Through Regional Collaboration, 2007). A successful effort requires 

that NOAA work with Federal, State, and local emergency managers, urban planners, decision 

makers, and coastal resource managers to develop assessment and decision support tools for at risk 

communities (Dunbar and Weaver, 2007). This also involves increased public awareness of tsunamis 

via outreach and education activities.

NOAA’s Tsunami Program will promote community preparedness and resilience by:

• Defining inundation model standards to encourage community modeling

• Promoting NTHMP efforts in inundation mapping by providing access to available coastal 

relief data and information

• Supporting NTHMP in improving community resilience

• Collaborating with NOAA Coastal Community Hazard Resilience and Coastal Zone 

Management 

• Supporting and expanding the TsunamiReadyTM Program and adjusting criteria as necessary 

to best improve tsunami preparedness
NOAA’s Tsunami Program 2008–2017 Strategic Plan 13

Tsunami Research

To meet the requirements of 33 U.S.C. § 3205 to maintain a tsunami research 

program to develop detection, forecast, communication, and mitigation science 

and technology, including advanced sensing techniques, information and 

communication technology, data collection and analysis, and assessment for 

tsunami tracking and numerical forecast modeling we will:

Support tsunami forecast and warning research

Tsunami research is required to understand tsunami processes and impacts, develop more accurate 

and efficient models and detection techniques, and advance efficient and effective warning and 

mitigation measures. NOAA is dedicated to developing and improving tsunami detection, hazard 

assessment, and forecast tools as well as improving communication and mitigation techniques. To 

strengthen NOAA’s tsunami research capability, we will:

• Support basic and operationally-driven research requirements

• Support research-to-operations activities

• Include integrating social science research to develop and assess community resilience

• Ensure that research and findings are available to the scientific community

• Investigate the use of alternative technology to improve forecasts and warnings

• Conduct research to aid operational cost control
14 NOAA’s Tsunami Program 2008–2017 Strategic Plan

Global Tsunami Warning and Mitigation Network

To meet the requirements of 33 U.S.C. § 3206 to provide technical assistance 

and training to the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, the World 

Meteorological Organization, and other international entities, as part of 

international efforts to develop a fully functional global tsunami forecast and 

warning system comprising regional tsunami warning networks modeled on the 

International Tsunami Warning System of the Pacific, we will:

Promote a fully functional global tsunami forecast and warning system

The global tsunami warning and mitigation system is being built from many existing and new 

national and regional systems and initiatives including the U.S. NTHMP. U.S. technical agencies, 

including NOAA, are ensuring interoperability and compatibility by developing standards and 

protocols, identifying and strengthening existing capacities, defining the components contributing 

to the GEOSS/IOC design for an end-to-end multi-hazard system, converging or harmonizing 

observation and communication methods, and promoting interoperability arrangements such as data 

management. NOAA’s Tsunami Program will continue to promote a fully functional global tsunami 

forecast and warning system by:

• Providing technical assistance and training to IOC International Coordination Groups (ICGs) 

and their member states

• Designating an International Liaison/Training Program Coordinator at ITIC

• Establishing a mechanism for ITIC to report accomplishments to NOAA regarding its 

responsibilities outlined in 33 U.S.C. §§ 3201 et seq.

• Promoting full and open exchange of data by all member states

• Continue to coordinate on warning guidance with the ICGs
NOAA’s Tsunami Program 2008–2017 Strategic Plan 15

Tsunami Warning and Education Act Extension Activities

In January 2007, Congress passed P.L. 109–479, Title VIII, Tsunami Warning and 

Education Act, to authorize and strengthen tsunami detection, forecast, warning, 

and mitigation to protect life and property in the United States. To ensure NOAA 

meets the requirements of P.L. 109–479, codified at 33 U.S.C. §§ 3201 et seq.,

and establishes a sustainable national tsunami warning and mitigation effort, we 

will: 

Establish a domestic and international training program

The knowledge, skills, and dedication of the Tsunami Program’s staff are one of its greatest assets. 

The Program’s success depends upon technical expertise and ability to work effectively with an 

increasingly diverse clientele. The Program’s core workforce must continue to possess technical 

expertise. The need for management skills will continue to increase as a wider range of partners are 

brought together. The Program must also effectively train our domestic and international partners 

to ensure a full understanding of the hazard and mitigation techniques needed to build community 

resiliency. To meet the objective of establishing a domestic and international training program, the 

Tsunami Program will:

• Establish an expanded Tsunami Certification Program (i.e., through the University of 

Washington) that meets IOC requirements to support a sustainable, global Tsunami Warning 

System

• Improve internal training of the Tsunami Program staff (including Web-based training and 

support for the Watchstander Exchange Program) 

• Enable staff participation in post-tsunami surveys

• Work with State Departments of Education and Free Choice Learning Institutions

Extend and Improve the World Data Center Tsunami Databases 

NOAA’s Tsunami Program supports full and open exchange of data with other nations and 

organizations. NOAA operates the WDC for Geophysics and Marine Geology (GMG), in Boulder, 

Colorado (collocated with NOAA’s NGDC). The WDC manages all types of data from the ocean 

bottom and solid Earth, including geological hazards. Digital data include historical tsunamis, 

earthquake epicenters, and volcanic eruption data. The WDC emphasizes the economic impact and 

damage from significant past events. To meet the requirements outlined in the Tsunami Warning and 

Education Act, we must:
16 NOAA’s Tsunami Program 2008–2017 Strategic Plan

• Consolidate the information in the TWCs’ database with the WDC database, and establish 

replication processes from the WDC to the TWCs

• Establish international data quality standards and incorporate regional databases into the 

WDC database

• Complete the quality review of retrospective data

• Enhance collaboration with IOC ICGs and with the GEO Program

Improve Organizational Communications

An effective Tsunami Program requires clear, efficient and effective organizational communication. 

We must be able to articulate the Program’s accomplishments and requirements during, immediately 

after, and in-between tsunami events. The Program’s communication strategy is as follows:

• Improve inreach within NOAA (Executive Council, CFO, Office of Program Planning and 

Integration, Legislative Affairs, Education Council, etc.)

• Develop and implement a “Scorecard for Rapid Event Performance Reporting”

• Integrate content for the tsunami.gov Web site to more comprehensively communicate all 

aspects of our program

• Update outreach materials to communicate a NOAA-wide program including links to coastal 

resiliency and multi-hazard approaches
NOAA’s Tsunami Program 2008–2017 Strategic Plan 17

Implementation Strategy

The success of NOAA’s Tsunami Program strategic plan will be measured by how well its mission 

and objectives are met. The following is the Tsunami Program’s strategy to achieve these objectives. 

NOAA will align the over-arching program capabilities to meet requirements of 33 U.S.C. §§ 3201 

et seq. To meet these objectives, the new capability structure is tsunami forecasts and warning 

guidance, hazard mitigation and preparedness, research, and international coordination.

Each capability will work with existing partnership structures (e.g., NTHMP) to address the strategic 

objectives outlined in this plan. The Program will define an action plan that will define steps to 

be taken, responsible parties, how and when the action will be completed, and required resources. 

Success will be measured through semi-annual reporting to NOAA’s Tsunami Program Manager on 

the status of the action plan elements.
18 NOAA’s Tsunami Program 2008–2017 Strategic Plan

Appendix 1. Tsunami Program Performance Indicators

Program Performance Measure—PM

Strategic Program Performance Primary Contri-

	 Outcomes	 Strategies	 Indicators/Milestones	 Line Office	 butors

Timely and 

accurate tsunami 

forecast and 

warning products

(1) Ensure reliable 

and sufficient 

operational data 

collection, analysis, 

and product 

dissemination

(2) Support forecast 

and warning research 

(3) Ensure adequate 

and sustainable staff 

levels

PM: Maintain probability of detection for a 

destructive tsunami within the TWC area 

of responsibility at 100 percent

NWS NOAA,

USGS,

States

PM: Reduce elapsed time from 

earthquake to Tsunami Message Product 

issuance for distant events from 22 

minutes to 16 minutes by 2013

NWS NOAA,

USGS,

States

PM: Reduce elapsed time from 

earthquake to Tsunami Message Product 

issuance for regional events from 10 

minutes to 5 minutes by 2013

NWS NOAA,

USGS,

States

PM: Reduce time to cancel a Tsunami 

Warning or Watch from 3 hours to 2 

hours by 2013

NWS NOAA,

USGS,

States

PM: Reduce the geographical extent 

of tsunami warnings from 25 percent 

reduction in 2007 to 47 percent reduction 

in 2013

NWS OAR, 

NOS

PM: Reduce the community cost of 

tsunami evacuation from $6 Million in 

2007 to $4.3 Million in 2013

NWS OAR,

NOS

PM: Maintain each TWC at a high level of 

reliability so that tsunami products can be 

issued at all times

NWS

PM: Accurately estimate AOR earthquake 

location within 15 km of epicenter and 

magnitude within .17 (compared to official 

USGS location and magnitude product) 

by 2013 so that reliable and appropriate 

products are issued

NWS USGS,

NOAA, 

States

PM: Increase the data available from the 

observational networks to 90 percent by 

2013

NWS, 

NOS

NOAA,

USGS,

States

PM: Reduce the cost for the DARTTM

network operation and maintenance

NWS,

OAR

Goal: Implement fully operational Sitespecific Inundation Forecast Tool resident 

in the Tsunami Warning Centers

NWS OAR

Goal: Improve accuracy of tsunami wave 

arrival time, duration of the tsunami 

wave activity, and tsunami wave height 

forecasts

NWS OAR
NOAA’s Tsunami Program 2008–2017 Strategic Plan 19

Tsunami 

products that are 

understandable 

and usable by the 

public

(1) Improve product 

utility and accuracy to 

customers

(2) Ensure reliable 

and sufficient 

operational data 

collection, analysis 

and product 

dissemination 

(3) Support forecast 

and warning research

Goal: Reduce geographical extent of 

tsunami warning by basing warned areas 

on expected threat versus distance or 

travel time from epicenter

NWS OAR

PM: Maintain high level of TWS product 

satisfaction measured by post-event 

surveys

NWS NTHMP 

partners

PM: Increase percentage of response 

from primary recipients to monthly 

communications tests from 82 percent to 

90 percent by 2013

NWS NTHMP 

partners

Goal: Improve graphical products to 

provide tsunami travel time maps (2007), 

warnings, watch, and advisory area maps 

(2009), energy plots (2010), and site 

specific impact maps by 2012

NWS OAR, 

NTHMP 

partners

Resilient 

communities 

inhabited by 

a public that 

is educated to 

take appropriate 

actions

(1) Establish a 

domestic and 

international training 

program 

(2) Promote 

community 

preparedness and 

resilience

(3) Support forecast 

and warning research

PM: Increase the number of 

TsunamiReadyTM communities from 46 to 

105 by 2013

NWS NTHMP

partners

Goal: Strengthen TsunamiReadyTM to 

promote coastal community resilience 

rather than minimal readiness

NWS NTHMP

partners,

NEMA,

IAEM,

social 

science

partners

Goal: Develop new performance 

measures for the “strengthened” 

TsunamiReadyTM Program

NWS NOS, 

OAR, 

NESDIS,

NTHMP

partners

Goal: Develop a standard “after action or 

post event review” for TsunamiReadyTM

communities that captures best practices 

and lessons learned to demonstrate the 

value of the TsunamiReadyTM Program

NWS NOS, 

OAR, 

NESDIS,

NTHMP

partners

Goal: Expand comprehensive community 

tsunami awareness pilot programs 

(e.g., Seaside, Oregon) into other “high 

hazard” coastal communities

NWS NOS, 

OAR, 

NESDIS

Goal: Conduct community preparedness 

visits to coastal communities

NWS NTHMP 

partners

Goal: Develop a scenario and loss 

estimates for a Cascadia Subduction 

Zone Event, and the initiation of multiState planning for a response to such an 

event

NWS, 

OAR

NTHMP 

partners, 

NEMA, 

IAEM, 

social 

science 

partners
20 NOAA’s Tsunami Program 2008–2017 Strategic Plan

A sustainable 

Tsunami Program 

populated by 

dedicated and 

properly trained 

individuals

(1) Ensure adequate 

and sustainable staff 

levels 

(2) Improve 

organizational 

communications

(3) Support forecast 

and warning research

Goal: Hire and train Tsunami Program 

staff to meet appropriate levels

NWS, 

OAR, 

NESDIS, 

NOS

Reliable and 

coordinated data, 

communications, 

and dissemination 

infrastructure 

that supports the 

Tsunami Program

(1) Ensure integration 

of data and 

information systems

(2) Promote a fully 

functional global 

tsunami forecast and 

warning system

(3) Extend and 

improve 

the World Data 

Center Tsunami 

Database

PM: Increase efficiency of archive and 

distribution of post-event tsunami data 

NESDIS NWS,

NOS

Tsunami research 

program that 

leads to more 

effective and 

affordable tsunami 

warning products

(1) Develop 

detection, forecast, 

communication, and 

mitigation science 

and technology

PM: Increase the number of Inundation 

Forecast Models developed for specific 

high-risk areas from 26 to 75 by 2013

OAR NWS,

NESDIS

Goal: Identify science and technology 

to reduce DARTTM operations costs and 

to use forecast models for mitigation 

products

NWS,

OAR

NESDIS,

NTHMP 

partners

(2) Coordinate with 

NWS on technology 

to be transferred

Goal: Transfer tsunami forecasting 

technology into warning centers

OAR NWS, 

NOS,

NESDIS,

NSF,

NTHMP

partners

(3) Conduct social 

science research

Goal: Form NSF/NOAA partnership to 

conduct social science research that 

evaluates the effectiveness of tsunami 

warning products 

OAR NWS, 

NOS, 

NESDIS, 

NSF, 

NTHMP 

partners
NOAA’s Tsunami Program 2008–2017 Strategic Plan 21

Appendix 2. Tsunami Program Legislative Authorities

1. Legislative mandates directing NOAA to invest in development and operation of warning 

systems include:

i. Tsunami Warning and Education Act, 33 U.S.C. §§ 3201 et seq. Authorizes and 

strengthens the tsunami detection, forecast, warning, and mitigation program of the 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to be carried out by the National 

Weather Service, and for other purposes.

ii. Weather Service Organic Act, 15 U.S.C. § 313. Sets forth the primary duties of the 

National Weather Service, including the requirements that the Secretary of Commerce 

shall: forecast the weather; issue storm warnings; display weather and flood signals 

for the benefit of agriculture, commerce, and navigation; gauge and report the flow 

of rivers; maintain and operate the seacoast telegraph lines and collect and transmit 

marine intelligence for the benefit of commerce and navigation; report temperature 

and rain-fall conditions for the cotton interests; display frost and cold-wave signals; 

distribute meteorological information in the interests of agriculture and commerce; 

and take the meteorological observations that may be necessary to establish and 

record the climatic conditions of the United States, or that are essential for the proper 

execution of the foregoing duties.

iii. Provision of Data for Navigation of Marine, Air Commerce and Research into 

Geophysical Sciences, 33 U.S.C. §§ 883a - 883i. This provides the basis for NOS 

[NOAA] navigation service programs as well as OAR and NWS coastal seismic 

and sea level monitoring duties, including the TWCs, and related data management 

responsibilities of NESDIS. Sec. 883a authorizes the Secretary of Commerce 

to conduct hydrographic and topographic surveys, tide and current observations, 

geodetic control surveys, field surveys for aeronautical charts, and geomagnetic, 

seismological, gravity, and related geophysical measurements to provide charts and 

other information for safe marine and air navigation. This information is collected, 

analyzed, assimilated, and distributed by the Department of Commerce. NOS 

is designated as the central depository for geomagnetic data, and the Secretary 

is authorized to collect, correlate and disseminate such data. The Secretary is 

authorized to conduct developmental work for the improvement of surveying and 

cartographic methods and instruments and to conduct investigations and research in 

geophysical sciences (33 U.S.C. § 883d). The Secretary is authorized to enter into 

cooperative agreements with States, Federal agencies, public or private organizations 

or individuals, for surveying, mapping and publication activities, and to contract with 

qualified organizations for National Geodetic Survey functions (33 U.S.C. § 883c) . 

There is a permanent authorization of appropriations (33 U.S.C. § 883i). 
22 NOAA’s Tsunami Program 2008–2017 Strategic Plan

Note further that specific duties of the Coast and Geodetic Survey include operation 

of the National Geomagnetism Program and Honolulu Geomagnetic Observatory 

(established 1902) and the U.S. Seismic Sea Wave Warning system at the Honolulu 

Observatory (established in 1946). In 1949, the PTWC in Ewa Beach, Hawaii, was 

established to provide warnings from teletsunamis to most countries in the Pacific 

Basin as well as to Hawaii and all other U.S. interests in the Pacific outside of Alaska 

and the U.S. West Coast. 

The NOAA Administrator has been delegated the authority to perform these functions 

(Department Organization Order, DOO 10-15).
NOAA’s Tsunami Program 2008–2017 Strategic Plan 23

Appendix 3. Strategic Plan Reference Documents

Advancing NOAA’s Priorities through Regional Collaboration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration, March 2007. http://www.ppi.noaa.gov/Regional_Collaboration/Regional_

Collaboration_Overview_041307.pdf

Bernard, Eddie N., Lori A. Dengler, and Solomon C. Yim. National Tsunami Research Plan: Report 

of a Workshop Sponsored by NSF/NOAA. NOAA Technical Memorandum OAR PMEL-133, 

March 2007. http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/pubs/PDF/bern3043/bern3043.pdf

Borrero, Jose, Sungbin Cho, James E. Moore, and Costas Synolakis, “The Regional Economic 

Cost of a Tsunami Wave Generated by a Submarine Landslide off Palos Verdes, California,” in 

Infrastructure Risk Management Processes: Natural, Accidental, and Deliberate Hazards, Craig 

E. Taylor and Erik Vanmarcke, editors. American Society of Civil Engineers, Council on Disaster 

Risk Management, Monograph No. 1, May 2005.

Crossett, Kristen M., Thomas J. Culliton, Peter C. Wiley, and Timothy R. Goodspeed, Population 

Trends Along the Coastal United States: 1980–2008. National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration, Coastal Trends Report Series, September 2004. http://www.oceanservice.noaa.

gov/programs/mb/pdfs/coastal_pop_trends_complete.pdf

David, Fred R., Strategic Management Concepts and Cases. Prentice Hall, 9th Edition, 2003.

Dunbar, Paula K. and Craig S. Weaver, U.S. States and Territories National Tsunami Hazard 

Assessment: Historical Record and Sources for Waves. National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration and U.S. Geological Survey, April 2007.

Economic Census Program, Program Assessment and Rating Tool, U.S. Census Bureau, 2004.

Munich Re, Annual Review: Natural Catastrophes in 2004. Munich Re Group Knowledge Series, 

Topics Geo, 2005, 60 pages.

National Science and Technology Council, Tsunami Risk Reduction for the United States: A 

Framework for Action. Joint Report of the Subcommittee on Disaster Reduction and the United 

States Group on Earth Observations, December 2006.

NOAA’s Tsunami Program Charter. http://www.ppi.noaa.gov/Weatherand_Water/ww_pdfs/Tsunami.

pdf

Program Assessment and Rating Tool Guidance Manual for NOAA Programs

P.L. 109–424: Tsunami Warning and Education Act, approved December 2006. 

http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=109_cong_public_laws&docid=f:

publ424.109.pdf

Tsunami Program Data Management Plan: An Initial Report on the Management of Environmental 

Data Required to Minimize the Impact of Tsunamis in the United States. National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration, December 2006.

United States Group on Earth Observations, Improved Observations for Disaster Reduction: NearTerm Opportunity Plan, September 2006.

“U.S. Announces Plan for an Improved Tsunami Detection and Warning System,” NOAA News 

Online, January 14, 2005. http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2005/s2369.htm
24 NOAA’s Tsunami Program 2008–2017 Strategic Plan

Appendix 4. Alignment to NOAA’s Weather and Water Goal 

Team Strategic Goals 

 Tsunami Program Tsunami Program

Outcomes Objectives Outcomes Strategies

Reduced loss of life, 

injury, and damage to 

the economy

Increase lead time and 

accuracy for weather 

and water warnings and 

forecasts

Timely and accurate 

tsunami forecasts and 

warning products

• Ensure reliable and 

sufficient operational data 

collection, analysis, and 

product dissemination

Improve predictability 

of the onset, duration, 

and impact of hazardous 

and severe weather and 

water events

Timely and accurate 

tsunami forecasts and 

warning products

• Ensure reliable and 

sufficient operational data 

collection, analysis, and 

product dissemination

• Support forecast and 

warning research

Better, quicker, and 

more valuable weather 

and water information 

to support improved 

decisions

Increase application and 

accessibility of weather 

and water information 

as the foundation for 

creating and leveraging 

public (i.e. Federal, 

State, local, Tribal), 

private and academic 

partnerships

(1) Reliable and 

coordinated data, 

communications, 

and dissemination 

infrastructure that 

supports the Tsunami 

Program

(2) Tsunami products that 

are understandable and 

usable by the public 

(3) A sustainable Tsunami 

Program populated by 

dedicated and properly 

trained individuals

• Extend and improve 

the World Data Center 

Tsunami Database to meet 

requirements of 33 U.S.C. §§ 

3201 et seq.

• Ensure integration of data 

and information systems

Increase development, 

application, and transition 

of advanced science and 

technology to operations 

and services

Reliable and coordinated 

data, communications, 

and dissemination 

infrastructure that 

supports the Tsunami 

Program

Reduce uncertainty 

associated with weather 

and water decision tools 

and assessments

(1) Timely and accurate 

tsunami forecasts and 

warning products 

(2) Tsunami products that 

are understandable and 

usable by the public

• Improve product utility and 

accuracy to customers

• Establish a domestic 

and international training 

program

• Support forecast and 

warning research
NOAA’s Tsunami Program 2008–2017 Strategic Plan 25

Increased customer 

satisfaction with 

weather and water 

services

Increase coordination 

of weather and water 

information and services 

with integration of local, 

regional, and global 

systems

(1) Tsunami products that 

are understandable and 

usable by the public

(2) Reliable and 

coordinated data, 

communications, 

and dissemination 

infrastructure that 

supports the Tsunami 

Program

• Improve Tsunami Program 

communication

• Promote community 

preparedness and resilience

• Promote a fully functional 

global tsunami forecast and 

warning system

Enhance environmental 

literacy and improve 

understanding, value, 

and use of weather and 

water information and 

services

Resilient communities 

inhabited by a public that 

is educated to take the 

appropriate response

• Establish a domestic 

and international training 

program

• Promote community 

preparedness and resilience

All Weather and Water 

Goal outcomes

All Weather and Water 

Goal objectives

All Tsunami Program 

outcomes

• Ensure adequate and 

sustainable staff levels

• Ensure reauthorization of 

the Tsunami Warning and 

Education Act (33 U.S.C. §§ 

3201 et seq.)
26 NOAA’s Tsunami Program 2008–2017 Strategic Plan

Appendix 5. Alignment to 33 U.S.C. §§ 3201 et seq., Tsunami 

Warning and Education Act

 Tsunami Program Strategies 33 U.S.C. §§ 3201 et seq. Citation

Ensure reliable and sufficient operational 

data collection, analysis, and product 

dissemination

Sec. 3203 (b)(2) – utilize and maintain an array of robust tsunami 

detection technologies

Sec. 3203 (b)(3) – maintain detection equipment in operational 

condition to fulfill the detection, forecasting and warning 

requirements of this Act

Sec. 3203 (b)(4) – provide tsunami forecasting capability based on 

models and measurements, including tsunami inundation models 

and maps for use in increasing the preparedness of communities, 

including through the TsunamiReadyTM Program

Sec. 3203 (b)(5) – maintain data quality and management 

systems to support the requirements of the program

Sec. 3203 (b)(6) – include a cooperative effort among the 

Administration, the USGS, and the NSF under which the USGS 

and NSF shall provide rapid and reliable seismic information to the 

Administration from international and domestic networks.

Support forecast and warning research Sec. 3203 (d)(2)(F) – making data gathered under this Act and 

post-warning analyses conducted by the NWS or other relevant 

Administration offices available to researchers

Sec. 3205 (1) – consider other appropriate research to mitigate 

the impact of tsunamis

Sec. 3205 (2) – coordinate with the NWS on technology to be 

transferred to operations

Sec. 3205 (3) – include social science research to develop and 

assess community warning, education, evacuation materials

Sec. 3205 (4) – ensure that research and findings are available to 

the scientific community.

Extend and improve the WDC Tsunami 

Database to meeting requirements of 33 

U.S.C. §§ 3201 et seq.

Sec. 3203 (d)(2)(F) – making data gathered under this Act and 

post-warning analyses conducted by the NWS or other relevant 

Administration offices available to researchers

Sec. 3203 (e)(1)(B) – develop and execute a plan for the transfer 

of technology from ongoing research described in Sec. 3205 into 

the program under this Section

Sec. 3206 (d) – Data-Sharing Requirement... when deciding to 

provide assistance under this section, may take into consideration 

the data sharing policies and practices of nations proposed to 

receive such assistance, with a goal of encourage all nations to 

support full and open exchange of data.

Ensure integration of data and information 

systems

Sec. 3203 (b)(8) – allow, as practicable, for integration of tsunami 

detection technologies with other environmental observing 

technologies.

Improve product utility and accuracy to 

customers

Sec. 3203 (b)(7) – provide a capability for the dissemination of 

warnings to at-risk States and tsunami communities through rapid 

and reliable notification to government officials, and the public, 

including utilization of and coordination with existing Federal 

warning systems, including the NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards 

Program.
NOAA’s Tsunami Program 2008–2017 Strategic Plan 27

Promote community preparedness and 

resilience

Sec. 3203 (b)(4) – provide tsunami forecasting capability based on 

models and measurements, including tsunami inundation models 

and maps for use in increasing the preparedness of communities, 

including through the TsunamiReadyTM Program 

Sec. 3204 (b)(3) – provide recommendations to the NWS on how 

to improve the TsunamiReadyTM Program, particularly on ways 

to make communities more tsunami resilient through the use of 

inundation maps and other mitigation practices

Sec. 3204 (c)(2) – promote and improve community outreach 

and education networks and programs to ensure community 

readiness including the development of comprehensive coastal 

risk and vulnerability assessment training and decision support 

tools, implementation of technical training and public education 

programs, and providing for certification of prepared communities.

Ensure adequate and sustainable staff 

levels

33 U.S.C. §§ 3201 et seq.

Ensure reauthorization of the Tsunami 

Warning and Education Act of 2006 (P.L. 

109-424)

33 U.S.C. §§ 3201 et seq.

Improve Tsunami Program 

communications

33 U.S.C. §§ 3201 et seq.
28 NOAA’s Tsunami Program 2008–2017 Strategic Plan

Appendix 6. Acronyms

AOR Area of Responsibility (for Tsunami Warning Centers)

DARTTM Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis

EAS Emergency Alert System

FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency

GEO Group on Earth Observations

GEOSS Global Earth Observation System of Systems

IAEM International Association of Emergency Managers

ICG International Coordination Group

ICSU International Council for Science

IOC Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission

IOOS Integrated Ocean Observing System

ISDR International Strategy for Disaster Reduction

ITIC International Tsunami Information Center

NEMA National Emergency Management Association

NESDIS National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service

NGDC National Geophysical Data Center

NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NOS National Ocean Service

NSF National Science Foundation

NTHMP National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program

NWR NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards

NWS National Weather Service

O&M Operations and Maintenance

OAR Office of Atmospheric Research

OMAO Office of Marine and Aviation Operations

PMEL Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory

SEG Solid Earth Geophysics

PTWC Pacific Tsunami Warning Center

TWC Tsunami Warning Center

TWS Tsunami Warning System

UNEP United Nations Environment Programme

UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization

USAID United States Agency for International Development

USGS United States Geological Survey

WDC World Data Center

WFO Weather Forecast Office

WMO World Meteorological Organization
NOAA’s Tsunami Program 2008–2017 Strategic Plan 29

Appendix 7. State, Territorial, and Commonwealth Partners

Washington

Alaska

Hawaii

California

Oregon

American Samoa

Northern Marianas Islands

Guam

Puerto Rico

U.S. Virgin Islands

Texas

Louisiana

Mississippi

Alabama

Florida

Georgia

South Carolina

North Carolina

Virginia

Maryland

New Jersey

New York

Connecticut

Massachusetts

Maine

New Hampshire

Rhode Island

Delaware