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Union Calendar No. 422 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 1674 

[Report No. 109–698] 

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. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 18, 2005 

Mr. BOEHLERT (for himself, Mr. INSLEE, Mr. EHLERS, and Mr. WU) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science 

SEPTEMBER 28, 2006 

Additional sponsors: Mr. GILCHREST, Mr. BAIRD, Mr. CASE, Ms. BORDALLO, 

Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. SAXTON, Mr. PALLONE, Ms. 

JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr. COSTA, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. MILLER of 

North Carolina, Mr. GORDON, Ms. HOOLEY, Mr. MEEKS of New York, 

Mr. HONDA, Mr. FITZPATRICK of Pennsylvania, Mr. BONNER, Mr. 

SCHWARZ of Michigan, Mr. SHAYS, Mr. REICHERT, and Mr. FARR

SEPTEMBER 28, 2006 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on April 18, 2005] 

A BILL 

To authorize and strengthen the tsunami detection, forecast, 

warning, and mitigation program of the National Oceanic 


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and Atmospheric Administration, to be carried out by 

the National Weather Service, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘United States Tsunami 

5 Warning and Education Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

7 The purposes of this Act are— 

8 (1) to improve tsunami detection, forecasting, 

9 warnings, notification, preparedness, and mitigation 

10 to protect life and property both in the United States; 

11 (2) to enhance and modernize the existing Pa12 cific Tsunami Warning System to increase coverage, 

13 reduce false alarms and increase the accuracy of fore14 casts and warnings, and to expand detection and 

15 warning systems to include other vulnerable States 

16 and United States territories, including the Atlantic 

17 Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico areas; 

18 (3) to improve mapping, modeling, research, and 

19 assessment efforts to improve tsunami forecasting, 

20 preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery; 

21 (4) to improve and increase education and out22 reach activities and ensure that those receiving tsu23 nami warnings and the at-risk public know what to 

24 do when a tsunami is approaching; 


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1 (5) to provide technical and other assistance to 

2 speed international efforts to establish regional tsu3 nami warning systems in vulnerable areas worldwide, 

4 including the Indian Ocean; and 

5 (6) to improve Federal, State, and international 

6 coordination for tsunami and other coastal hazard 

7 warnings and preparedness. 

8 SEC. 3. TSUNAMI FORECASTING AND WARNING PROGRAM. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the National 

10 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, through the Na11 tional Weather Service, shall operate a program to provide 

12 tsunami forecasting and warnings for the Pacific Ocean re13 gion and for the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf 

14 of Mexico region. 

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

16 shall— 

17 (1) include the tsunami warning centers estab18 lished under subsection (d); 

19 (2) provide tsunami forecasting capability based 

20 on models and measurements, including tsunami in21 undation models and maps for use in increasing the 

22 preparedness of communities, including through the 

23 TsunamiReady program; 

24 (3) include a cooperative effort among the Na25 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the 


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1 United States Geological Survey, and the National 

2 Science Foundation under which the Geological Sur3 vey and the National Science Foundation shall pro4 vide rapid and reliable seismic information to the 

5 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

6 from international and domestic seismic networks; 

7 (4) provide a capability for the dissemination of 

8 warnings to at-risk States and tsunami communities 

9 through rapid and reliable notification to government 

10 officials and the public through such means as the 

11 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

12 weather radio and the All Hazard Alert Broadcasting 

13 Radio; and 

14 (5) include any technology the Administrator 

15 considers appropriate to fulfill the objectives of the 

16 program under this section. 

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

18 shall operate— 

19 (1) a Pacific tsunami warning system capable of 

20 forecasting tsunamis anywhere in the Pacific Ocean 

21 region and providing adequate warnings; and 

22 (2) an Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf 

23 of Mexico tsunami warning system capable of fore24 casting tsunamis and providing adequate warnings 


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1 in areas of the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and 

2 Gulf of Mexico that are determined— 

3 (A) to be geologically active, or to have sig4 nificant potential for geological activity; and 

5 (B) to pose significant risks of tsunamis for 

6 States along the coastal areas of the Atlantic 

7 Ocean, Caribbean Sea, or Gulf of Mexico. 

8 (d) TSUNAMI WARNING CENTERS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, through 

10 the National Weather Service, shall maintain or es11 tablish— 

12 (A) a Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in 

13 Hawaii; 

14 (B) a West Coast and Alaska Tsunami 

15 Warning Center in Alaska; and 

16 (C) any additional forecast and warning 

17 centers determined by the National Weather 

18 Service to be necessary. 

19 (2) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The responsibilities of 

20 each tsunami warning center shall include— 

21 (A) continuously monitoring data from seis22 mological, deep ocean, and tidal monitoring sta23 tions; 

24 (B) evaluating earthquakes that have the 

25 potential to generate tsunamis; 


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1 (C) evaluating deep ocean buoy data and 

2 tidal monitoring stations for indications of tsu3 nami resulting from earthquakes and other 

4 sources; 

5 (D) disseminating forecasts and tsunami 

6 warning bulletins to Federal, State, and local 

7 government officials and the public; 

8 (E) coordinating with the tsunami hazard 

9 mitigation program described in section 4 to en10 sure ongoing sharing of information between 

11 forecasters and emergency management officials; 

12 and 

13 (F) making data gathered under this Act 

14 and post-warning analyses conducted by the Na15 tional Weather Service available to researchers. 

16 (e) TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY; MAINTENANCE AND

17 UPGRADES.— 

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

19 the National Weather Service shall— 

20 (A) develop requirements for the equipment 

21 used to forecast tsunamis, which shall include 

22 provisions for multipurpose detection platforms, 

23 reliability and performance metrics, and to the 

24 maximum extent practicable how the equipment 

25 will be integrated with other United States and 


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1 global ocean and coastal observation systems, the 

2 global earth observing system of systems, global 

3 seismic networks, and the Advanced National 

4 Seismic System; and 

5 (B) develop and execute a plan for the 

6 transfer of technology from ongoing research de7 scribed in section 5 into the program under this 

8 section. 

9 (2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—(A) Not later than 

10 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Na11 tional Weather Service shall transmit to Congress a 

12 report on how the tsunami forecast system under this 

13 section will be integrated with other United States 

14 and global ocean and coastal observation systems, the 

15 global earth observing system of systems, global seis16 mic networks, and the Advanced National Seismic 

17 System. 

18 (B) Not later than 3 years after the date of en19 actment to this Act, the National Weather Service 

20 shall transmit a report to Congress on how technology 

21 developed under section 5 is being transferred into the 

22 program under this section. 

23 (f) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATIONS.—The Adminis24 trator shall notify the Senate Committee on Commerce, 


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1 Science, and Transportation and the House of Representa2 tives Committee on Science within 3 months of— 

3 (1) impaired regional forecasting capabilities 

4 due to equipment or system failures; and 

5 (2) significant contractor failures or delays in 

6 completing work associated with the tsunami fore7 casting and warning system. 

8 (g) EXTERNAL REVIEW.—The Administrator of the 

9 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall 

10 enter into an arrangement with the National Academy of 

11 Sciences to review the tsunami detection, forecast, and 

12 warning program operated by the National Weather Service 

13 under this Act to assess further modernization and coverage 

14 needs, as well as long-term operational reliability issues, 

15 taking into account measures implemented under this Act. 

16 The review shall also include an assessment of how well the 

17 forecast equipment has been integrated into other United 

18 States and global ocean and coastal observation systems 

19 and the global earth observing system of systems. Not later 

20 than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

21 Administrator shall transmit a report containing the Na22 tional Academy of Sciences’ recommendations, the Adminis23 trator’s responses to the recommendations, including those 

24 where the Administrator disagrees with the Academy, a 

25 timetable to implement the accepted recommendations, and 


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1 the cost of implementing all the Academy’s recommenda2 tions, to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

3 Transportation and the House of Representatives Com4 mittee on Science. 

5 SEC. 4. NATIONAL TSUNAMI HAZARD MITIGATION PRO6 GRAM. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the National 

8 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, through the Na9 tional Weather Service, shall conduct a community-based 

10 tsunami hazard mitigation program to improve tsunami 

11 preparedness of at-risk areas in the United States and its 

12 territories. 

13 (b) COORDINATING COMMITTEE.—In conducting the 

14 program under this section, the Administrator shall estab15 lish a coordinating committee comprising representatives of 

16 Federal, State, local, and tribal government officials. The 

17 Administrator may establish subcommittees to address re18 gion-specific issues. The committee shall— 

19 (1) recommend how funds appropriated for car20 rying out the program under this section will be allo21 cated; 

22 (2) ensure that areas described in section 3(c) in 

23 the United States and its territories can have the op24 portunity to participate in the program; and 


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1 (3) provide recommendations to the National 

2 Weather Service on how to improve the 

3 TsunamiReady program, particularly on ways to 

4 make communities more tsunami resilient through the 

5 use of inundation maps and other mitigation prac6 tices. 

7 (c) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.—The program under this 

8 section shall— 

9 (1) use inundation models that meet a standard 

10 of accuracy defined by the National Oceanic and At11 mospheric Administration to improve the quality and 

12 extent of inundation mapping, including assessment 

13 of vulnerable inner coastal and nearshore areas, in a 

14 coordinated and standardized fashion to maximize re15 sources and the utility of data collected; 

16 (2) promote and improve community outreach 

17 and education networks and programs to ensure com18 munity readiness, including the development of multi19 hazard risk and vulnerability assessment training 

20 and decision support tools, implementation of tech21 nical training and public education programs, and 

22 provide for certification of prepared communities; 

23 (3) integrate tsunami preparedness and mitiga24 tion programs into ongoing hazard warning and risk 

25 management programs in affected areas; 


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1 (4) promote the adoption of tsunami warning 

2 and mitigation measures by Federal, State, tribal, 

3 and local governments and nongovernmental entities, 

4 including educational programs to discourage devel5 opment in high-risk areas; and 

6 (5) provide for periodic external review of the 

7 program. 

8 SEC. 5. TSUNAMI RESEARCH PROGRAM. 

9 The Administrator of the National Oceanic and At10 mospheric Administration shall, in consultation with other 

11 agencies and academic institutions, and with the Coordi12 nating Committee established under section 4(b), establish 

13 or maintain a tsunami research program to develop detec14 tion, forecast, communication, and mitigation science and 

15 technology, including advanced sensing techniques, infor16 mation and communication technology, data collection, 

17 analysis, and assessment for tsunami tracking and numer18 ical forecast modeling. Such research program shall— 

19 (1) consider other appropriate research to miti20 gate the impact of tsunamis; 

21 (2) coordinate with the National Weather Service 

22 on technology to be transferred to operations; 

23 (3) include social science research to develop and 

24 assess community warning, education, and evacu25 ation materials; and 


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1 (4) ensure that research and findings are avail2 able to the scientific community. 

3 SEC. 6. GLOBAL TSUNAMI WARNING AND MITIGATION NET4 WORK. 

5 (a) INTERNATIONAL TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEM.— 

6 The Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmos7 pheric Administration, through the National Weather Serv8 ice, in coordination with other members of the United 

9 States Interagency Committee of the National Tsunami 

10 Hazard Mitigation Program, shall provide technical assist11 ance and training to the Intergovernmental Oceanographic 

12 Commission, the World Meteorological Organization, and 

13 other international entities, as part of international efforts 

14 to develop a fully functional global tsunami forecast and 

15 warning system comprising regional tsunami warning net16 works, modeled on the International Tsunami Warning 

17 System of the Pacific. 

18 (b) INTERNATIONAL TSUNAMI INFORMATION CEN19 TER.—The Administrator of the National Oceanic and At20 mospheric Administration, through the National Weather 

21 Service, in cooperation with the Intergovernmental Oceano22 graphic Commission, shall operate an International Tsu23 nami Information Center to improve tsunami preparedness 

24 for all Pacific Ocean nations participating in the Inter25 national Tsunami Warning System of the Pacific, and 


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1 which may also provide such assistance to other nations 

2 participating in a global tsunami warning system estab3 lished through the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Com4 mission. As part of its responsibilities around the world, 

5 the Center shall— 

6 (1) monitor international tsunami warning ac7 tivities around the world; 

8 (2) assist member states in establishing national 

9 warning systems, and make information available on 

10 current technologies for tsunami warning systems; 

11 (3) maintain a library of materials to promul12 gate knowledge about tsunamis in general and for use 

13 by the scientific community; and 

14 (4) disseminate information, including edu15 cational materials and research reports. 

16 (c) DETECTION EQUIPMENT; TECHNICAL ADVICE AND

17 TRAINING.—In carrying out this section, the National 

18 Weather Service— 

19 (1) shall give priority to assisting nations in 

20 identifying vulnerable coastal areas, creating inunda21 tion maps, obtaining or designing real-time detection 

22 and reporting equipment, and establishing commu23 nication and warning networks and contact points in 

24 each vulnerable nation; and 


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1 (2) may establish a process for transfer of detec2 tion and communication technology to affected na3 tions for the purposes of establishing the international 

4 tsunami warning system. 

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

6 Weather Service, when deciding to provide assistance under 

7 this section, may take into consideration the data sharing 

8 policies and practices of nations proposed to receive such 

9 assistance, with a goal to encourage all nations to support 

10 full and open exchange of data. 

11 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

12 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Admin13 istrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis14 tration to carry out this Act— 

15 (1) $26,000,000 for fiscal year 2006, of which— 

16 (A) 62 percent shall be for the tsunami fore17 cast and warning systems under section 3 and 

18 international activities under section 6; 

19 (B) 30 percent shall be for the tsunami haz20 ard mitigation program under section 4; and 

21 (C) 8 percent shall be for the tsunami re22 search program under section 5; 

23 (2) $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2007, of which— 


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1 (A) 66 percent shall be for the tsunami fore2 cast and warning systems under section 3 and 

3 international activities under section 6; 

4 (B) 26 percent shall be for the tsunami haz5 ard mitigation program under section 4; and 

6 (C) 8 percent shall be for the tsunami re7 search program under section 5; and 

8 (3) $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2008, of which— 

9 (A) 66 percent shall be for the tsunami fore10 cast and warning systems under section 3 and 

11 international activities under section 6; 

12 (B) 26 percent shall be for the tsunami haz13 ard mitigation program under section 4; and 

14 (C) 8 percent shall be for the tsunami re15 search program under section 5. 


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Union Calendar No. 422 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 1674 

[Report No. 109

–698] 

A BILL 

To authorize and strengthen the tsunami detection, 

Service, and for other purposes. tion, to be carried out by the National Weather National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administraforecast, warning, and mitigation program of the 

SEPTEMBER 28, 2006 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


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