H. R. 1674

One Hundred Ninth Congress

of the

United States of America 

AT THE SECOND SESSION 

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday, 

the third day of January, two thousand and six 

An Act 

To authorize and strengthen 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.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 

the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Tsunami Warning and Education 

Act’’. 

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

In this Act: 

(1) The term ‘‘Administration’’ means the National Oceanic 

and Atmospheric Administration. 

(2) The term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Administrator of 

the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

The purposes of this Act are—

(1) to improve tsunami detection, forecasting, warnings, 

notification, outreach, and mitigation to protect life and property in the United States; 

(2) to enhance and modernize the existing Pacific Tsunami 

Warning System to increase coverage, reduce false alarms, 

and increase the accuracy of forecasts and warnings, and to 

expand detection and warning systems to include other vulnerable States and United States territories, including the Atlantic 

Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico areas; 

(3) to improve mapping, modeling, research, and assessment efforts to improve tsunami detection, forecasting, 

warnings, notification, outreach, mitigation, response, and 

recovery; 

(4) to improve and increase education and outreach activities and ensure that those receiving tsunami warnings and 

the at-risk public know what to do when a tsunami is 

approaching; 

(5) to provide technical and other assistance to speed international efforts to establish regional tsunami warning systems 

in vulnerable areas worldwide, including the Indian Ocean; 

and 

(6) to improve Federal, State, and international coordination for detection, warnings, and outreach for tsunami and 

other coastal impacts. 
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SEC. 4. TSUNAMI FORECASTING AND WARNING PROGRAM. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, through the National 

Weather Service and in consultation with other relevant Administration offices, shall operate a program to provide tsunami detection, 

forecasting, and warnings for the Pacific and Arctic Ocean regions 

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

region. 

(b) COMPONENTS.—The program under this section shall—

(1) include the tsunami warning centers established under 

subsection (d); 

(2) utilize and maintain an array of robust tsunami detection technologies; 

(3) maintain detection equipment in operational condition 

to fulfill the detection, forecasting, and warning requirements 

of this Act; 

(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 TsunamiReady program; 

(5) maintain data quality and management systems to 

support the requirements of the program; 

(6) include a cooperative effort among the Administration, 

the United States Geological Survey, and the National Science 

Foundation under which the Geological Survey and the 

National Science Foundation shall provide rapid and reliable 

seismic information to the Administration from international 

and domestic seismic networks; 

(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 National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration Weather Radio All Hazards Program; 

(8) allow, as practicable, for integration of tsunami detection technologies with other environmental observing technologies; and 

(9) include any technology the Administrator considers 

appropriate to fulfill the objectives of the program under this 

section. 

(c) SYSTEM AREAS.—The program under this section shall 

operate—

(1) a Pacific tsunami warning system capable of forecasting 

tsunami anywhere in the Pacific and Arctic Ocean regions 

and providing adequate warnings; and 

(2) an Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico 

tsunami warning system capable of forecasting tsunami and 

providing adequate warnings in areas of the Atlantic Ocean, 

Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico that are determined—

(A) to be geologically active, or to have significant 

potential for geological activity; and 

(B) to pose significant risks of tsunami for States along 

the coastal areas of the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, 

or Gulf of Mexico. 

(d) TSUNAMI WARNING CENTERS.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, through the National 

Weather Service, shall maintain or establish—
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(A) a Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii; 

(B) a West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center 

in Alaska; and 

(C) any additional forecast and warning centers determined by the National Weather Service to be necessary. 

(2) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The responsibilities of each tsunami 

warning center shall include—

(A) continuously monitoring data from seismological, 

deep ocean, and tidal monitoring stations; 

(B) evaluating earthquakes that have the potential 

to generate tsunami; 

(C) evaluating deep ocean buoy data and tidal monitoring stations for indications of tsunami resulting from 

earthquakes and other sources; 

(D) disseminating forecasts and tsunami warning bulletins to Federal, State, and local government officials and 

the public; 

(E) coordinating with the tsunami hazard mitigation 

program described in section 5 to ensure ongoing sharing 

of information between forecasters and emergency management officials; and 

(F) making data gathered under this Act and postwarning analyses conducted by the National Weather 

Service or other relevant Administration offices available 

to researchers. 

(e) TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY; MAINTENANCE AND UPGRADES.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this section, the National 

Weather Service, in consultation with other relevant Administration offices, shall—

(A) develop requirements for the equipment used to 

forecast tsunami, which shall include provisions for multipurpose detection platforms, reliability and performance 

metrics, and to the maximum extent practicable how the 

equipment will be integrated with other United States 

and global ocean and coastal observation systems, the 

global earth observing system of systems, global seismic 

networks, and the Advanced National Seismic System; 

(B) develop and execute a plan for the transfer of 

technology from ongoing research described in section 6 

into the program under this section; and 

(C) ensure that maintaining operational tsunami detection equipment is the highest priority within the program 

carried out under this Act. 

(2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—

(A) Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

of this Act, the National Weather Service, in consultation 

with other relevant Administration offices, shall transmit 

to Congress a report on how the tsunami forecast system 

under this section will be integrated with other United 

States and global ocean and coastal observation systems, 

the global earth observing system of systems, global seismic 

networks, and the Advanced National Seismic System. 

(B) Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment 

of this Act, the National Weather Service, in consultation 

with other relevant Administration offices, shall transmit 

a report to Congress on how technology developed under 
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section 6 is being transferred into the program under this 

section. 

(f) FEDERAL COOPERATION.—When deploying and maintaining 

tsunami detection technologies, the Administrator shall seek the 

assistance and assets of other appropriate Federal agencies. 

(g) ANNUAL EQUIPMENT CERTIFICATION.—At the same time Congress receives the budget justification documents in support of 

the President’s annual budget request for each fiscal year, the 

Administrator shall transmit to the Committee on Commerce, 

Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 

Science of the House of Representatives a certification that—

(1) identifies the tsunami detection equipment deployed 

pursuant to this Act, as of December 31 of the preceding calendar year; 

(2) certifies which equipment is operational as of December 

31 of the preceding calendar year; 

(3) in the case of any piece of such equipment that is 

not operational as of such date, identifies that equipment and 

describes the mitigation strategy that is in place—

(A) to repair or replace that piece of equipment within 

a reasonable period of time; or 

(B) to otherwise ensure adequate tsunami detection 

coverage; 

(4) identifies any equipment that is being developed or 

constructed to carry out this Act but which has not yet been 

deployed, if the Administration has entered into a contract 

for that equipment prior to December 31 of the preceding 

calendar year, and provides a schedule for the deployment 

of that equipment; and 

(5) certifies that the Administrator expects the equipment 

described in paragraph (4) to meet the requirements, cost, 

and schedule provided in that contract. 

(h) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATIONS.—The Administrator shall 

notify the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

of the Senate and the Committee on Science of the House of Representatives within 30 days of—

(1) impaired regional forecasting capabilities due to equipment or system failures; and 

(2) significant contractor failures or delays in completing 

work associated with the tsunami forecasting and warning 

system. 

(i) REPORT.—Not later than January 31, 2010, the Comptroller 

General of the United States shall transmit a report to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 

and the Committee on Science of the House of Representatives 

that—

(1) evaluates the current status of the tsunami detection, 

forecasting, and warning system and the tsunami hazard mitigation program established under this Act, including progress 

toward tsunami inundation mapping of all coastal areas vulnerable to tsunami and whether there has been any degradation 

of services as a result of the expansion of the program; 

(2) evaluates the National Weather Service’s ability to 

achieve continued improvements in the delivery of tsunami 

detection, forecasting, and warning services by assessing policies and plans for the evolution of modernization systems, 
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models, and computational abilities (including the adoption of 

new technologies); and 

(3) lists the contributions of funding or other resources 

to the program by other Federal agencies, particularly agencies 

participating in the program. 

(j) EXTERNAL REVIEW.—The Administrator shall enter into an 

arrangement with the National Academy of Sciences to review 

the tsunami detection, forecast, and warning program established 

under this Act to assess further modernization and coverage needs, 

as well as long-term operational reliability issues, taking into 

account measures implemented under this Act. The review shall 

also include an assessment of how well the forecast equipment 

has been integrated into other United States and global ocean 

and coastal observation systems and the global earth observing 

system of systems. Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit a report containing the National Academy of Sciences’ recommendations, the 

Administrator’s responses to the recommendations, including those 

where the Administrator disagrees with the Academy, a timetable 

to implement the accepted recommendations, and the cost of implementing all the Academy’s recommendations, to the Committee 

on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the 

Committee on Science of the House of Representatives. 

(k) REPORT.—Not later than 3 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall establish a process for 

monitoring and certifying contractor performance in carrying out 

the requirements of any contract to construct or deploy tsunami 

detection equipment, including procedures and penalties to be 

imposed in cases of significant contractor failure or negligence. 

SEC. 5. NATIONAL TSUNAMI HAZARD MITIGATION PROGRAM. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, through the National 

Weather Service and in consultation with other relevant Administration offices, shall conduct a community-based tsunami hazard 

mitigation program to improve tsunami preparedness of at-risk 

areas in the United States and its territories. 

(b) COORDINATING COMMITTEE.—In conducting the program 

under this section, the Administrator shall establish a coordinating 

committee comprising representatives of Federal, State, local, and 

tribal government officials. The Administrator may establish subcommittees to address region-specific issues. The committee shall—

(1) recommend how funds appropriated for carrying out 

the program under this section will be allocated; 

(2) ensure that areas described in section 4(c) in the United 

States and its territories can have the opportunity to participate 

in the program; 

(3) provide recommendations to the National Weather 

Service on how to improve the TsunamiReady program, particularly on ways to make communities more tsunami resilient 

through the use of inundation maps and other mitigation practices; and 

(4) ensure that all components of the program are 

integrated with ongoing hazard warning and risk management 

activities, emergency response plans, and mitigation programs 

in affected areas, including integrating information to assist 

in tsunami evacuation route planning. 
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(c) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.—The program under this section 

shall—

(1) use inundation models that meet a standard of accuracy 

defined by the Administration to improve the quality and extent 

of inundation mapping, including assessment of vulnerable 

inner coastal and nearshore areas, in a coordinated and 

standardized fashion to maximize resources and the utility 

of data collected; 

(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; 

(3) integrate tsunami preparedness and mitigation programs into ongoing hazard warning and risk management 

activities, emergency response plans, and mitigation programs 

in affected areas, including integrating information to assist 

in tsunami evacuation route planning; 

(4) promote the adoption of tsunami warning and mitigation measures by Federal, State, tribal, and local governments 

and nongovernmental entities, including educational programs 

to discourage development in high-risk areas; and 

(5) provide for periodic external review of the program. 

(d) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this section shall be construed 

to require a change in the chair of any existing tsunami hazard 

mitigation program subcommittee. 

SEC. 6. TSUNAMI RESEARCH PROGRAM. 

The Administrator shall, in consultation with other agencies 

and academic institutions, and with the coordinating committee 

established under section 5(b), establish or 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, analysis, and assessment for tsunami tracking and numerical 

forecast modeling. Such research program shall—

(1) consider other appropriate research to mitigate the 

impact of tsunami; 

(2) coordinate with the National Weather Service on technology to be transferred to operations; 

(3) include social science research to develop and assess 

community warning, education, and evacuation materials; and 

(4) ensure that research and findings are available to the 

scientific community. 

SEC. 7. GLOBAL TSUNAMI WARNING AND MITIGATION NETWORK. 

(a) INTERNATIONAL TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEM.—The Administrator, through the National Weather Service and in consultation 

with other relevant Administration offices, in coordination with 

other members of the United States Interagency Committee of 

the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program, shall 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. 
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(b) INTERNATIONAL TSUNAMI INFORMATION CENTER.—The 

Administrator, through the National Weather Service and in consultation with other relevant Administration offices, in cooperation 

with the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, shall 

operate an International Tsunami Information Center to improve 

tsunami preparedness for all Pacific Ocean nations participating 

in the International Tsunami Warning System of the Pacific, and 

may also provide such assistance to other nations participating 

in a global tsunami warning system established through the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission. As part of its responsibilities around the world, the Center shall—

(1) monitor international tsunami warning activities 

around the world; 

(2) assist member states in establishing national warning 

systems, and make information available on current technologies for tsunami warning systems; 

(3) maintain a library of materials to promulgate knowledge 

about tsunami in general and for use by the scientific community; and 

(4) disseminate information, including educational materials and research reports. 

(c) DETECTION EQUIPMENT; TECHNICAL ADVICE AND TRAINING.— In carrying out this section, the National Weather Service—

(1) shall give priority to assisting nations in identifying 

vulnerable coastal areas, creating inundation maps, obtaining 

or designing real-time detection and reporting equipment, and 

establishing communication and warning networks and contact 

points in each vulnerable nation; 

(2) may establish a process for transfer of detection and 

communication technology to affected nations for the purposes 

of establishing the international tsunami warning system; and 

(3) shall provide technical and other assistance to support 

international tsunami programs. 

(d) DATA-SHARING REQUIREMENT.—The National Weather 

Service, 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 to encourage all nations to support full and open exchange of data. 

SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

There are authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator 

to carry out this Act—

(1) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2008, of which—

(A) not less than 27 percent of the amount appropriated 

shall be for the tsunami hazard mitigation program under 

section 5; and 

(B) not less than 8 percent of the amount appropriated 

shall be for the tsunami research program under section 

6; 

(2) $26,000,000 for fiscal year 2009, of which—

(A) not less than 27 percent of the amount appropriated 

shall be for the tsunami hazard mitigation program under 

section 5; and 

(B) not less than 8 percent of the amount appropriated 

shall be for the tsunami research program under section 

6; 

(3) $27,000,000 for fiscal year 2010, of which—
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(A) not less than 27 percent of the amount appropriated 

shall be for the tsunami hazard mitigation program under 

section 5; and 

(B) not less than 8 percent of the amount appropriated 

shall be for the tsunami research program under section 

6; 

(4) $28,000,000 for fiscal year 2011, of which—

(A) not less than 27 percent of the amount appropriated 

shall be for the tsunami hazard mitigation program under 

section 5; and 

(B) not less than 8 percent of the amount appropriated 

shall be for the tsunami research program under section 

6; and 

(5) $29,000,000 for fiscal year 2012, of which—

(A) not less than 27 percent of the amount appropriated 

shall be for the tsunami hazard mitigation program under 

section 5; and 

(B) not less than 8 percent of the amount appropriated 

shall be for the tsunami research program under section 

6.

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.