The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration(NOAA) has highlighted how the U.S. and the rest of the world are now better prepared than ever for the next big tsunami. Nearing the 5 year anniversary of a deadly tsunami in the Indian Ocean which claimed more than 230,000 lives, there has been a lot of focus on the nation’s tsunami detection and warning capabilities.
“NOAA is advancing tsunami science and warning systems for America and many at-risk parts of the world,” said Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “Our efforts cannot stop with researching, developing technology and issuing forecasts – successful early warning ultimately relies on communicating the threat clearly so a prepared population will be able to act responsibly.”
With millions of Americans living along both coastlines, our country faces significant risks if a major tsunami event were to occur. Despite the large amounts of money spent over the past few years upgrading their systems, the NOAA acknowledges it still depends on how prepared a populace is to deal with such a catastrophic event.
Hurricane Katrina showed us how dreadfully unprepared our emergency response was at both the federal and local level and though many improvements have been made since then. While it proved unnecessary after the fact, last year we saw the city of Houston quickly evacuate nearly two million people when there was a hurricane approaching from the Gulf of Mexico.
Unfortunately for an event like a tsunami, there will be little to no warning available, despite the improvements to the NOAA’s equipment and the population will need to act fast in order to get to safety
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