1. Strengthening Tsunami Warning and Emergency Response Suva, Fiji 24 September 2010 Tsunami Warning Stuart Weinstein Deputy Director, Pacific Tsunami Warning Center Laura Kong Director, International Tsunami Information Center

2. UNESCO/IOC-NOAA International Tsunami Information Center Enabling Learning Objectives 3-1 Describe tsunami warning information (natural warning signs, official, informal) 3-2 Describe how tsunami warning centers work 3-3 Describe the warning process and how it reaches “the last mile on the coast” 3-4 Recognize importance of communication testing 3-5 Describe types of tsunami messages

3. Tsunami Awareness UNESCO/IOC-NOAA International Tsunami Information Center Tsunami Travel Times – Lautoka Source

4. Tsunami Awareness UNESCO/IOC-NOAA International Tsunami Information Center Tsunami Travel Times – Lautoka Source

5. Tsunami Awareness UNESCO/IOC-NOAA International Tsunami Information Center Calculated Tsunami Travel Times

6. UNESCO/IOC-NOAA International Tsunami Information Center Tsunami Warning Information Natural Tsunami Warnings Strong coastal earthquake shaking Rapid sea level changes Roaring sound Official Information Federal, State, Local govt Important for distant tsunamis Informal Information Friends, neighbors, relatives Media, SMS, social networks…

7. UNESCO/IOC-NOAA International Tsunami Information Center ACTION DO NOT WAIT FOR OFFICIAL EVACUATION ORDERS Drop, Cover, and Hold. Go Inland to High Ground Immediately. 2010, Crescent City, USA Strong Local Coastal Earthquake

8. UNESCO/IOC-NOAA International Tsunami Information Center DO NOT WAIT FOR OFFICIAL EVACUATION ORDERS ACTION 1946, Hilo, USA 1995, Mexico Go Inland to High Ground Immediately Noticeable Rise or Fall of Coastal Waters

9. UNESCO/IOC-NOAA International Tsunami Information Center How Tsunami Warning Centers Work TWCs are reliable and dependable; 24x7 Monitor seismicity for large earthquakes Monitor sea levels for tsunamis When alarms trigger, evaluate earthquake for tsunami threat Issue Official tsunami threat messages to authorities and public

10. UNESCO/IOC-NOAA International Tsunami Information Center How Tsunami Warning Centers Work U.S. TWCs: NOAA NWS West Coast / Alaska Tsunami Warning Center and Pacific Tsunami Warning Center

11. Tsunami Awareness UNESCO/IOC-NOAA International Tsunami Information Center TWC messages are: -authoritative, coordinated among other TWCs -issued simultaneously to many customers (international, national, local, private sector, public) -reliable since they are working 24x7 -redundant since they are issued through many communication pathways -broadcast because of time urgency TWC Communication Pathways

12. Tsunami Awareness UNESCO/IOC-NOAA International Tsunami Information Center USCG Radio SafetyNet EMWIN Family of Services GTS Military US and Foreign Country Airports Public Website U.S. NWS Coastal Forecast Offices U.S. Coast Guard Media U.S. State Dept. Operations Center NOAA Weather Wire NOAA-net State Telecomms to Local EM NOAA Weather Radio Emergency Alert System (EAS) Notify foreign countries as appropriate Internet Cell phone text messaging Internet, email RSS, fax FAA Tsunami Warning Center USGS State/Local EM, Media, Public U.S. NWS Telecommunications Gateway State/Local EM, Public State/Local EM State Emergency Service Offices Seismic Data Sea-level Data EQ TSUNAMI TWC Communication Pathways

13. UNESCO/IOC-NOAA International Tsunami Information Center PTWC PACIFIC BULLETIN CRITERIA

14. UNESCO/IOC-NOAA International Tsunami Information Center Tsunami Messages: Alert Levels TWC Alert Level: TWC-determined Threat: Local Authority Safety Action: DANGER LEVEL NOT KNOWN PREPARE, STAY ALERT FOR MORE INFORMATION NO ACTION SUGGESTED NONE or MINOR WAVES AT MOST

15. UNESCO/IOC-NOAA International Tsunami Information Center Tsunami Messages: Alert Levels TWC Alert Level: TWC-determined Threat: Local Authority Safety Action: EXPECTED FLOODING EVACUATION RECOMMENDED

16. UNESCO/IOC-NOAA International Tsunami Information Center Tsunami Warning Message – PTWC TSUNAMI BULLETIN NUMBER 001 PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER/NOAA/NWS ISSUED AT 1804Z 29 SEP 2009 THIS BULLETIN APPLIES TO AREAS WITHIN AND BORDERING THE PACIFIC OCEAN AND ADJACENT SEAS...EXCEPT ALASKA...BRITISH COLUMBIA... WASHINGTON...OREGON AND CALIFORNIA.... A TSUNAMI WARNING AND WATCH ARE IN EFFECT... A TSUNAMI WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR AMERICAN SAMOA / SAMOA / NIUE / WALLIS-FUTUNA / TOKELAU / COOK ISLANDS / TONGA / TUVALU / KIRIBATI / KERMADEC IS / FIJI / HOWLAND-BAKER / JARVIS IS. / NEW ZEALAND / FR. POLYNESIA / PALMYRA IS. (more to follow)

17. UNESCO/IOC-NOAA International Tsunami Information Center Tsunami Warning Message – PTWC (continued from previous) A TSUNAMI WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR VANUATU / NAURU / MARSHALL IS. / SOLOMON IS. / JOHNSTON IS. / NEW CALEDONIA / KOSRAE / PAPUA NEW GUINEA / HAWAII / POHNPEI / WAKE IS. / PITCAIRN / MIDWAY IS. FOR ALL OTHER AREAS COVERED BY THIS BULLETIN... IT IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY AT THIS TIME. THIS BULLETIN IS ISSUED AS ADVICE TO GOVERNMENT AGENCIES. ONLY NATIONAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO MAKE DECISIONS REGARDING THE OFFICIAL STATE OF ALERT IN THEIR AREA AND ANY ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN IN RESPONSE. (more to follow)

18. UNESCO/IOC-NOAA International Tsunami Information Center Tsunami Warning Message – PTWC (continued from previous) AN EARTHQUAKE HAS OCCURRED WITH THESE PRELIMINARY PARAMETERS ORIGIN TIME - 1748Z 29 SEP 2009 (add 13 hours for Tonga T COORDINATES - 15.3 SOUTH 171.0 WEST DEPTH - SHALLOWER THAN 100 KM LOCATION - SAMOA ISLANDS REGION MAGNITUDE - 7.9 (more to follow)

19. UNESCO/IOC-NOAA International Tsunami Information Center Tsunami Warning Message – Scenario (continued from previous) EVALUATION IT IS NOT KNOWN THAT A TSUNAMI WAS GENERATED. THIS WARNING IS BASED ONLY ON THE EARTHQUAKE EVALUATION. AN EARTHQUAKE OF THIS SIZE HAS THE POTENTIAL TO GENERATE A DESTRUCTIVE TSUNAMI THAT CAN STRIKE COASTLINES NEAR THE EPICENTER WITHIN MINUTES AND MORE DISTANT COASTLINES WITHIN HOURS. AUTHORITIES SHOULD TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION IN RESPONSE TO THIS POSSIBILITY. THIS CENTER WILL MONITOR SEA LEVEL DATA FROM GAUGES NEAR THE EARTHQUAKE TO DETERMINE IF A TSUNAMI WAS GENERATED AND ESTIMATE THE SEVERITY OF THE THREAT. (more to follow)

20. UNESCO/IOC-NOAA International Tsunami Information Center Tsunami Warning Message – Scenario (continued from previous) ESTIMATED INITIAL TSUNAMI WAVE ARRIVAL TIMES AT FORECAST POINTS WITHIN THE WARNING AND WATCH AREAS ARE GIVEN BELOW. ACTUAL ARRIVAL TIMES MAY DIFFER AND THE INITIAL WAVE MAY NOT BE THE LARGEST. A TSUNAMI IS A SERIES OF WAVES AND THE TIME BETWEEN SUCCESSIVE WAVES CAN BE FIVE MINUTES TO ONE HOUR. LOCATION FORECAST POINT COORDINATES ARRIVAL TIME -------------------------------- ------------ ------------ AMERICAN SAMOA PAGO PAGO 14.3S 170.7W 1759Z 29 SEP SAMOA APIA 13.8S 171.8W 1810Z 29 SEP NIUE NIUE IS. 19.0S 170.0W 1822Z 29 SEP WALLIS-FUTUNA WALLIS IS. 13.2S 176.2W 1835Z 29 SEP TOKELAU NUKUNONU IS. 9.2S 171.8W 1844Z 29 SEP COOK ISLANDS PUKAPUKA IS. 10.8S 165.9W 1846Z 29 SEP RAROTONGA 21.2S 159.8W 1929Z 29 SEP PENRYN IS. 8.9S 157.8W 1954Z 29 SEP TONGA NUKUALOFA 21.0S 175.2W 1851Z 29 SEP (more to follow)

21. UNESCO/IOC-NOAA International Tsunami Information Center Tsunami Warning Message – Scenario (continued from previous) HAWAII NAWILIWILI 22.0N 159.4W 2311Z 29 SEP HILO 19.7N 155.1W 2314Z 29 SEP HONOLULU 21.3N 157.9W 2315Z 29 SEP POHNPEI POHNPEI IS. 7.0N 158.2E 2318Z 29 SEP WAKE IS. WAKE IS. 19.3N 166.6E 2322Z 29 SEP PITCAIRN PITCAIRN IS. 25.1S 130.1W 2329Z 29 SEP MIDWAY IS. MIDWAY IS. 28.2N 177.4W 2349Z 29 SEP BULLETINS WILL BE ISSUED HOURLY OR SOONER IF CONDITIONS WARRANT. THE TSUNAMI WARNING AND WATCH WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. THE WEST COAST/ALASKA TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER WILL ISSUE PRODUCTS FOR ALASKA...BRITISH COLUMBIA...WASHINGTON...OREGON...CALIFORNIA.

22. UNESCO/IOC-NOAA International Tsunami Information Center Cancellation versus All-Clear Cancellation Message issued by TWCs –Officially cancels warning, watch, and advisory messages –Means that destructive waves have stopped in areas that can be monitored by the TWCs –Does not mean it is safe to return to Tsunami Hazard Zone Official All-Clear issued by local authority when it is safe to re-enter the Tsunami Hazard Zone

23. UNESCO/IOC-NOAA International Tsunami Information Center Warning Process: How it Reaches the “last mile on the coast” Commercial Radio and Television HF Radio Sirens

24. UNESCO/IOC-NOAA International Tsunami Information Center PUBLIC EVENT GOVT Official Information Information flow is linear from one source How People Get Warnings: Assumption

25. UNESCO/IOC-NOAA International Tsunami Information Center From many sources at same time Reverse 911 PUBLIC Friends & Family Federal Agencies Radio Cell Phone NOAA Weather Radio Texting & Social Networks Internet TV State Agencies Local Agencies How People Get Warnings: Reality Official & Informal (Unofficial) Information

26. UNESCO/IOC-NOAA International Tsunami Information Center Learning Activities Learning Activity 1 - Event timeline Learning Activity 2 - Information

27. UNESCO/IOC-NOAA International Tsunami Information Center Importance of Communications Testing to Ensure System Works Testing multi-hazard communication systems provides an opportunity to: –Check system reliability –Exercise operational lines of communications –Review Standard Operational Procedures –Promote public awareness “Test life safety communication systems regularly”

28. UNESCO/IOC-NOAA International Tsunami Information Center Summary Listed types of tsunami warning information Described how Tsunami Warning Centers work Listed types of tsunami messages Described the warning process and how it reaches “the last mile on the coast” Emphasized importance of communication testing

29. Strengthening Tsunami Warning and Emergency Response Suva, Fiji 24 September 2010 Tsunami Warning Stuart Weinstein Deputy Director, Pacific Tsunami Warning Center Laura Kong Director, International Tsunami Information Center