II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 50 

To authorize and strengthen the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s tsunami detection, forecast, warning, and mitigation program, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 24, 2005 

Mr. INOUYE (for himself, Mr. STEVENS, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. BURNS, Mr. 

LAUTENBERG, Ms. SNOWE, Mr. AKAKA, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mrs. CLINTON, Mr. SMITH, and Mrs. MURRAY) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

Transportation 

A BILL 

To authorize and strengthen the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s tsunami detection, forecast, 

warning, and mitigation program, 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 ‘‘Tsunami Preparedness 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 
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1 (1) Tsunami are a series of large waves of long 

2 wavelength created by the displacement of water by 

3 violent undersea disturbances such as earthquakes, 

4 volcanic eruptions, landslides, explosions, and the 

5 impact of cosmic bodies. 

6 (2) Tsunami have caused, and can cause in the 

7 future, enormous loss of human life, injury, destruc8 tion of property, and economic and social disruption 

9 in coastal and island communities. 

10 (3) While 85 percent of tsunami occur in the 

11 Pacific Ocean, and coastal and island communities 

12 in this region are the most vulnerable to the destruc13 tive results, tsunami can occur at any point in any 

14 ocean or related body of water where there are 

15 earthquakes, volcanoes, or any other activity that 

16 displaces a large volume of water. 

17 (4) A number of States and territories are sub18 ject to the threat of tsunamis, including Alaska, 

19 California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, American 

20 Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 

21 Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Is22 lands. 

23 (5) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad24 ministration is responsible for maintaining a tsu25 nami detection and warning system for the Nation, 
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1 issuing warnings to United States communities at 

2 risk from tsunami, and preparing those communities 

3 to respond appropriately, through— 

4 (A) the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center 

5 in Ewa Beach, Hawaii, which serves as a warn6 ing center for Hawaii, all other United States 

7 assets in the Pacific, and Puerto Rico; 

8 (B) the Alaska/West Coast Tsunami Warn9 ing Center in Palmer, Alaska, which is respon10 sible for issuing warnings for Alaska, British 

11 Columbia, California, Oregon, and Washington; 

12 (C) the Federal-State national tsunami 

13 hazard mitigation program; 

14 (D) a tsunami research and assessment 

15 program, including programs conducted by the 

16 Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory; 

17 (E) the TsunamiReady Program, which 

18 educates and prepares communities for survival 

19 before and during a tsunami; and 

20 (F) other related programs. 

21 (6) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad22 ministration also represents the United States as a 

23 member of the International Coordination Group for 

24 the Tsunami Warning System in the Pacific, admin25 istered by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic 
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1 Commission of UNESCO, for which the Pacific Tsu2 nami Warning Center acts as the operational center 

3 and shares seismic and water level information with 

4 26 member states, and maintains UNESCO’s Inter5 national Tsunami Information Center, in Honolulu, 

6 Hawaii, which provides technical and educational as7 sistance to member states. 

8 (7) The Tsunami Warning Centers receive seis9 mographic information from the Global Seismic Net10 work, an international system of earthquake moni11 toring stations, from the United States Geological 

12 Survey National Earthquake Information Center, 

13 and from cooperative regional seismic networks, and 

14 use these data to issue tsunami warnings and inte15 grate the information with data from their own tidal 

16 and deep ocean monitoring stations, to cancel or 

17 verify the existence of a damaging tsunami. Warn18 ings are disseminated by the National Oceanic and 

19 Atmospheric Administration to State emergency op20 eration centers. 

21 (8) Current gaps in the International Tsunami 

22 Warning System, such as the lack of regional warn23 ing systems in the Indian Ocean, the southwest Pa24 cific Ocean, Central and South America, the Medi-
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1 terranean Sea, and Caribbean, pose risks for coastal 

2 and island communities. 

3 (9) The tragic and extreme loss of life experi4 enced by countries in the Indian Ocean following the 

5 magnitude 9.0 earthquake and resulting tsunami in 

6 that region on December 26, 2004, illustrates the 

7 destructive consequences which can occur in the ab8 sence of an effective tsunami warning and notifica9 tion system. 

10 (10) An effective tsunami warning and notifica11 tion system is part of a multi-hazard disaster warn12 ing and preparedness program and requires near 

13 real-time seismic, sea level, and oceanographic data, 

14 high-speed data analysis capabilities, a high-speed 

15 tsunami warning communication system, a sustained 

16 program of education and risk assessment, and an 

17 established local communications infrastructure for 

18 timely and effective dissemination of warnings to ac19 tivate evacuation of tsunami hazard zones. 

20 (11) The Tsunami Warning System for the Pa21 cific is a model for other regions of the world to 

22 adopt, and can be expanded and modernized to in23 crease detection, forecast, and warning capabilities 

24 for vulnerable states and territories, reduce the inci25 dence of costly false alarms, improve reliability of 
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1 measurement and assessment technology, and in2 crease community preparedness. 

3 (12) Tsunami warning and preparedness capa4 bility can be developed in other vulnerable areas of 

5 the world, such as the Indian Ocean, by identifying 

6 tsunami hazard zones, educating populations, devel7 oping alert and notification communications infra8 structure, and by deploying near real-time tsunami 

9 detection sensors and gauges, establishing hazard 

10 communication and warning networks, expanding 

11 global monitoring of seismic activity, encouraging 

12 the increased exchange of seismic and tidal data be13 tween nations, and improving international coordina14 tion when a tsunami is detected. 

15 (13) UNESCO has recognized the need to es16 tablish tsunami warning systems for regions beyond 

17 the Pacific Basin that are vulnerable to tsunami, in18 cluding the Indian Ocean, and has convened a work19 ing group to lead an effort to expand the Inter20 national Tsunami Warning System in the Pacific to 

21 such vulnerable regions. 

22 (14) The international community and all vul23 nerable nations should take coordinated efforts to 

24 establish and participate in regional tsunami warn25 ing systems and other hazard warnings systems de-
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1 veloped to meet the goals of the United Nations 

2 International Strategy for Disaster Reduction. 

3 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 

4 (1) to improve tsunami detection, forecast, 

5 warnings, notification, preparedness, and mitigation 

6 in order to protect life and property both in the 

7 United States and elsewhere in the world; 

8 (2) to improve and modernize the existing Pa9 cific Tsunami Warning System to increase coverage, 

10 reduce false alarms and increase accuracy of fore11 casts and warnings, and expand detection and warn12 ing systems to include other vulnerable States and 

13 United States territories, including the Caribbean/ 

14 Atlantic/Gulf region; 

15 (3) to increase and accelerate mapping, mod16 eling, research, assessment, education, and outreach 

17 efforts in order to improve forecasting, prepared18 ness, mitigation, response, and recovery of tsunami 

19 and related coastal hazards; 

20 (4) to provide technical and other assistance to 

21 speed international efforts to establish regional tsu22 nami warning systems in vulnerable areas worldwide, 

23 including the Indian Ocean; and 
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1 (5) to improve Federal, State, and international 

2 coordination for tsunami and other coastal hazard 

3 warnings and preparedness. 

4 SEC. 3. TSUNAMI DETECTION AND WARNING SYSTEM. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Na6 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall oper7 ate regional tsunami detection and warning systems for 

8 the Pacific Ocean region and for the Atlantic Ocean, Car9 ibbean, and Gulf of Mexico region that will provide max10 imum detection capability for United States coastal tsu11 nami. 

12 (b) SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS.— 

13 (1) PACIFIC SYSTEM.—The Pacific tsunami 

14 warning system shall cover the entire Pacific Ocean 

15 area, including the Western Pacific, the Central Pa16 cific, the North Pacific, the South Pacific, and the 

17 East Pacific and Arctic areas. 

18 (2) ATLANTIC, CARIBBEAN, AND GULF OF MEX19 ICO SYSTEM.—The Atlantic, Caribbean, and Gulf 

20 system shall cover areas of the Atlantic Ocean, Car21 ibbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico that the Admin22 istrator determines— 

23 (A) to be geologically active, or to have sig24 nificant potential for geological activity; and 
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1 (B) to pose measurable risks of tsunamis 

2 for States along the coastal areas of the Atlan3 tic Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico. 

4 (3) COMPONENTS.—The systems shall— 

5 (A) utilize an array of deep ocean detection 

6 buoys, including redundant and spare buoys; 

7 (B) include an associated tide gauge and 

8 water level system designed for long-term con9 tinuous operation tsunami transmission capa10 bility; 

11 (C) provide for establishment of a coopera12 tive effort between the National Oceanic and 

13 Atmospheric Administration and the United 

14 States Geological Survey under which the Geo15 logical Survey provides rapid and reliable seis16 mic information to the Administration from 

17 international and domestic seismic networks; 

18 (D) provide for information and data proc19 essing through the tsunami warning centers es20 tablished under subsection (c); 

21 (E) be integrated into United States and 

22 global ocean and earth observing systems; and 

23 (F) provide a communications infrastruc24 ture for at-risk tsunami communities that sup25 ports rapid and reliable alert and notification to 
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1 the public such as the National Oceanic and At2 mospheric Administration weather radio and 

3 the All Hazard Alert Broadcasting Radio. 

4 (c) TSUNAMI WARNING CENTERS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall es6 tablish tsunami warning centers to provide a link be7 tween the detection and warning system and the tsu8 nami hazard mitigation program established under 

9 section 4 including— 

10 (A) a Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in 

11 Hawaii; 

12 (B) a West Coast and Alaska Tsunami 

13 Warning Center in Alaska; and 

14 (C) any additional warning centers deter15 mined by the Administrator to be necessary. 

16 (2) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The responsibilities of 

17 each tsunami warning center shall include— 

18 (A) continuously monitoring data from 

19 seismological, deep ocean, and tidal monitoring 

20 stations; 

21 (B) evaluating earthquakes that have the 

22 potential to generate tsunami; 

23 (C) evaluating deep ocean buoy data and 

24 tidal monitoring stations for indications of tsu-
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1 nami resulting from sources other than earth2 quakes; and 

3 (D) disseminating information and warn4 ing bulletins appropriate for local and distant 

5 tsunamis to government agencies and the public 

6 and alerting potentially impacted coastal areas 

7 for evacuation. 

8 (d) TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY; MAINTENANCE AND

9 UPGRADES.—In carrying out this section, the Adminis10 trator shall— 

11 (1) promulgate specifications and standards for 

12 forecast, detection, and warning systems, including 

13 detection equipment; 

14 (2) develop and execute a plan for the transfer 

15 of technology from ongoing research to long-term 

16 operations; 

17 (3) ensure that detection equipment is main18 tained in operational condition to fulfill the fore19 casting, detection and warning requirements of the 

20 regional tsunami detection and warning systems; 

21 (4) obtain, to the greatest extent practicable, 

22 priority treatment in budgeting for, acquiring, trans23 porting, and maintaining weather sensors, tide 

24 gauges, water level gauges, and tsunami buoys incor-
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1 porated into the system including obtaining ship 

2 time; and 

3 (5) ensure integration of the tsunami detection 

4 system with other United States and global ocean 

5 and coastal observation systems, the global earth ob6 serving system of systems, global seismic networks, 

7 and the Advanced National Seismic System. 

8 (e) CERTIFICATION.—Amounts appropriated for any 

9 fiscal year pursuant to section 8 to carry out this section 

10 may not be obligated or expended for the acquisition of 

11 services for construction or deployment of tsunami detec12 tion equipment unless the Administrator certifies in writ13 ing to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

14 Transportation and the House of Representatives Com15 mittee on Science within 60 calendar days after the date 

16 on which the President submits the Budget of the United 

17 States for that fiscal year to the Congress that— 

18 (1) each contractor for such services has met 

19 the requirements of the contract for such construc20 tion or deployment; 

21 (2) the equipment to be constructed or deployed 

22 is capable of becoming fully operational without the 

23 obligation or expenditure of additional appropriated 

24 funds; and 
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1 (3) the Administrator does not reasonably fore2 see unanticipated delays in the deployment and oper3 ational schedule specified in the contract. 

4 SEC. 4. TSUNAMI HAZARD MITIGATION PROGRAM. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Na6 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is author7 ized to conduct a community-based tsunami hazard miti8 gation program to improve tsunami preparedness of at9 risk areas. 

10 (b) COORDINATING COMMITTEE.—In conducting the 

11 program, the Administrator shall establish a coordinating 

12 committee comprising representatives of— 

13 (1) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad14 ministration; 

15 (2) the United States Geological Survey; 

16 (3) the Federal Emergency Management Agen17 cy; 

18 (4) the National Science Foundation; and 

19 (5) affected coastal States and territories. 

20 (c) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.—The program shall— 

21 (1) improve the quality and extent of inunda22 tion mapping, including assessment of vulnerable 

23 inner coastal areas; 

24 (2) promote and improve community outreach 

25 and education networks and programs to ensure 
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1 community readiness, including the development of 

2 multi-hazard risk and vulnerability assessment train3 ing and decision support tools, implementation of 

4 technical training and public education programs, 

5 and provide for certification of prepared commu6 nities; 

7 (3) integrate tsunami preparedness and mitiga8 tion programs into ongoing hazard warning and risk 

9 management programs in affected areas including 

10 the National Response Plan; 

11 (4) promote the adoption of tsunami warning 

12 and mitigation measures by Federal, State, tribal, 

13 and local governments and non-governmental entities 

14 through a grant program for training, development 

15 of guidelines, and other purposes; 

16 (5) through the Federal Emergency Manage17 ment Agency as the lead agency, develop tsunami 

18 specific rescue and recovery guidelines for the Na19 tional Response Plan, including long-term mitigation 

20 measures, educational programs to discourage devel21 opment in high-risk areas, and use of remote sensing 

22 and other technology in rescue and recovery oper23 ations; 

24 (6) require budget coordination, through the 

25 Administration, to carry out the purposes of this Act 
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1 and to ensure that participating agencies provide 

2 necessary funds for matters within their respective 

3 areas of authority and expertise; and 

4 (7) provide for periodic external review of the 

5 program and for inclusion of the results of such re6 views in the report required by section 6(c). 

7 SEC. 5. TSUNAMI RESEARCH PROGRAM. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator of the Na9 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall, in 

10 coordination with other agencies and academic institu11 tions, establish a tsunami research program to develop de12 tection, prediction, communication, and mitigation science 

13 and technology that supports tsunami forecasts and warn14 ings, including advanced sensing techniques, information 

15 and communication technology, data collection, analysis 

16 and assessment for tsunami tracking and numerical fore17 cast modeling that will— 

18 (1) help determine— 

19 (A) whether an earthquake or other seis20 mic event will result in a tsunami; and 

21 (B) the likely path, severity, duration, and 

22 travel time of a tsunami; 

23 (2) develop techniques and technologies that 

24 may be used to communicate tsunami forecasts and 
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1 warnings as quickly and effectively as possible to af2 fected communities; 

3 (3) develop techniques and technologies to sup4 port evacuation products, including real-time notice 

5 of the condition of critical infrastructure along tsu6 nami evacuation routes for public officials and first 

7 responders; and 

8 (4) develop techniques for utilizing remote sens9 ing technologies in rescue and recovery operations. 

10 (b) COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY.—The Adminis11 trator, in consultation with the Assistant Secretary of 

12 Commerce for Communications and Information and the 

13 Federal Communications Commission, shall investigate 

14 the potential for improved communications systems for 

15 tsunami and other hazard warnings by incorporating into 

16 the existing network a full range of options for providing 

17 those warnings to the public, including, as appropriate— 

18 (1) telephones, including special alert rings; 

19 (2) wireless and satellite technology, including 

20 cellular telephones and pagers; 

21 (3) the Internet, including e-mail; 

22 (4) automatic alert televisions and radios; 

23 (5) innovative and low-cost combinations of 

24 such technologies that may provide access to remote 

25 areas; and 
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1 (6) other technologies that may be developed. 

2 SEC. 6. TSUNAMI SYSTEM UPGRADE AND MODERNIZATION. 

3 (a) SYSTEM UPGRADES.—The Administrator of the 

4 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall— 

5 (1) authorize and direct the immediate repair of 

6 existing deep ocean detection buoys and related com7 ponents of the system; 

8 (2) ensure the deployment of an array of deep 

9 ocean detection buoys in the regions described in 

10 section 3(a) of this Act; 

11 (3) ensure expansion or upgrade of the tide 

12 gauge network in the regions described in section 

13 3(a); and 

14 (4) complete the upgrades not later than De15 cember 31, 2007. 

16 (b) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATIONS.—The Adminis17 trator shall notify the Senate Committee on Commerce, 

18 Science, and Transportation and the House of Represent19 atives Committee on Science of— 

20 (1) impaired regional detection coverage due to 

21 equipment or system failures; and 

22 (2) significant contractor failures or delays in 

23 completing work associated with the tsunami detec24 tion and warning system. 
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1 (c) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Administrator shall 

2 transmit an annual report to the Senate Committee on 

3 Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House of 

4 Representatives Committee on Science on the status of the 

5 tsunami detection and warning system, including accu6 racy, false alarms, equipment failures, improvements over 

7 the previous year, and goals for further improvement (or 

8 plans for curing failures) of the system, as well as progress 

9 and accomplishments of the national tsunami hazard miti10 gation program. 

11 (d) EXTERNAL REVIEW.—The National Academy of 

12 Science shall review the tsunami detection, forecast, and 

13 warning system operated by the National Oceanic and At14 mospheric Administration under this Act to assess further 

15 modernization and coverage needs, as well as long-term 

16 operational reliability issues, taking into account measures 

17 implemented under this Act, and transmit a report con18 taining its recommendations, including an estimate of the 

19 costs of implementing those recommendations, to the Sen20 ate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

21 and the House of Representatives Committee on Science 

22 within 24 months after the date of enactment of this Act. 
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1 SEC. 7. GLOBAL TSUNAMI WARNING AND MITIGATION NET2 WORK. 

3 (a) INTERNATIONAL TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEM.— 

4 The Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmos5 pheric Administration, in coordination with other mem6 bers of the United States Interagency Committee of the 

7 National Tsunami Mitigation Program, shall provide tech8 nical assistance and advice to the Intergovernmental 

9 Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, the World Mete10 orological Organization, and other international entities, 

11 as part of international efforts to develop a fully functional 

12 global tsunami warning system comprised of regional tsu13 nami warning networks, modeled on the International 

14 Tsunami Warning System of the Pacific. 

15 (b) DETECTION EQUIPMENT; TECHNICAL ADVICE.— 

16 In carrying out this section, the Administrator— 

17 (1) shall give priority to assisting nations in 

18 identifying vulnerable coastal areas, creating inunda19 tion maps, obtaining or designing real-time detection 

20 and reporting equipment, and establishing commu21 nication and warning networks and contact points in 

22 each vulnerable nation; and 

23 (2) may establish a process for transfer of de24 tection and communication technology to affected 

25 nations for the purposes of establishing the inter26 national tsunami warning system. 
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1 (c) DATA-SHARING REQUIREMENT.—The Adminis2 trator may not provide assistance under this section for 

3 any region unless all affected nations in that region par4 ticipating in the tsunami warning network agree to share 

5 relevant data associated with the development and oper6 ation of the network. 

7 (d) RECEIPT OF INTERNATIONAL REIMBURSEMENT

8 AUTHORIZED.—The Administrator may accept payment 

9 to, or reimbursement of, the National Oceanic and Atmos10 pheric Administration in cash or in kind from inter11 national organizations and foreign authorities, or payment 

12 or reimbursement made on behalf of such an authority, 

13 for expenses incurred by the Administrator in carrying out 

14 any activity under this Act. Any such payments or reim15 bursements shall be considered a reimbursement to the ap16 propriated funds of the Administration. 

17 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

18 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Ad19 ministrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad20 ministration $35,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2006 

21 through 2012 to carry out this Act. 

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