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Tsunami
Atsunami(plural: tsunamis or tsunamia also known as aseismic sea waveor as
Signs of tsunami
2. What are the natural warning signs for a tsunami?
Severe ground shaking from local earthquakes may
cause tsunamis. As a tsunami approaches shorelines,
water may recede from the coast, exposing the ocean
floor, reefs and fish. Abnormal ocean activity, a wall of
water, and an approaching tsunami create a loud
"roaring" sound similar to that of a train or jet aircraft.
If you experience any of these phenomena, don't wait
for official evacuation orders. Immediately leave lowlying coastal areas and move to higher ground.
low-lying coastal areas. The upper floors of these hotels can provide
a safe place to find refuge should there be a tsunami warning and
you cannot move quickly inland to higher ground. Local Civil
Defense procedures may, however, not allow this type of
evacuation in your area. Homes and small buildings located in low
lying coastal areas are not designed to withstand tsunami impacts.
Do not stay in these structures should there be a tsunami warning.
Offshore reefs and shallow areas may help break the force of
tsunami waves, but large and dangerous waves can still be threat
to coastal residents in these areas. Staying away fro all low-lying
coastal areas is the safest advice when there is a tsunami warning.
New Idea
HONOLULU Japan is one of the most prepared countries in the world when it comes to tsunamis, but when a 9.0 earthquake struck near the
east coast of Honshu in March, 2011, it triggered an extreme tsunami that killed more than 18,000 people.
Four years later the City and County of Honolulu is taking some of the lessons learned from that horrible event by creatingextreme tsunami
mapsthat show where people need to be to remain safe.
Should we ever have a tsunami generated by an earthquake of a magnitude of 9.0 or above on the Richter scale, with the chance of waves
like that hitting our shores, our residents will be able to evacuate far enough that their lives will be saved, Mayor Kirk Caldwell said in a
Thursday news while announcing the new maps.
Regular tsunami evacuation zones listed in pink encompass about 90,000 Oahu residents. However, when you add the new extreme tsunami
zones, highlighted in yellow, a total of 330,000 people may be forced to evacuate. For Waikiki, the new extreme tsunami evacuation zone
shows the possibility of a runup reaching as far as the H1 Freeway by Bingham Street.
"You look in Waikiki, you've got to go way, way back now, said Caldwell. You've got to go across the Ala Wai Canal (and) you've got to go
across to Kapiolani Boulevard."
In addition to unveiling the new evacuation zones, the city urged residents to download a smartphone app called Ready Hawaii where the
extreme tsunami maps can be viewed. The app allows residents the opportunity to create an emergency preparedness plan while also issuing
alerts on other potential threats.
We try to cover every disaster, saidEmergency ManagementDeputy Director Peter Hirai, Anything from a major vehicle accident to
volcanoes."
Gerard Fryer, the senior geophysicist at thePacific Tsunami Warning Center, says an extreme tsunami can come from nearly any direction. For
example, the Aleutian Islands to the north of the state, the Kamchatka Peninsula to the northwest, and Vancouver Island to the northeast, just
to name a few.
"If it happened today it would take us about 25 minutes to decide whether it was this extreme event, said Fryer. In the worst case where the
tsunami is coming from the Aleutians, that still leaves a full four hours to evacuate."
Although the new evacuation zones are now in place, the citys work is far from over. So-called refuge centers that would be considered safe
during a regular tsunami could be overrun during an extreme event. Thats why the city is mapping out new areas for residents and visitors to
park their cars or seek refuge during an extreme tsunami warning.
Were still developing the refuge areas for this new zone, said Hirai. We dont have it yet.
TheDepartment of Emergency Managementsays during a hurricane event there's only enough shelter space for 35 percent of Oahu's
population. In the aftermath of an extreme tsunami, limited shelter space may also come into play depending on the extent of damage. Thats
why emergency planners say the time to prepare is now.
"Their first choice should be to get out of the zone and get to a loved one's house, a relative, a friend, someone who lives above or inland of the
zone that they can refuge with safely," said Hirai.
Emergency planners say evacuating vertically is also an option, but you should choose a building thats constructed with reinforced concrete
and go above the fourth floor as a tsunami arrives.
The new extreme tsunami maps were made possible through a $200,000 grant given to the University of Hawaiis Sea Grant College by the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. An additional $40,000 grant from NOAA allowed the city to create the smartphone app.
Resources
http://nctr.pmel.noaa.gov/faq_display.ph
p?kw=15%20March%202005%20Interview%20wit
h%20Dr.%20Hal%20Mofjeld
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/jetstream/tsunami/t
sunami_faq.htm
http://www.kitv.com/news/City-releases-ext
reme-tsunami-maps/34330010
Reporter
Sotto, Alfredo