Photo By Dino Buchanan | FORT SHAFTER, Hawaii (April 10, 2019) -- A Tsunami Evacuation area sign on the island...... read more read more
FORT SHAFTER, Hawaii (April 10, 2019) -- This month the State of Hawaii Emergency Management Agency is encouraging Hawaii residents - including Department of Defense employees and personnel - to stay vigilant as part of Tsunami Awareness Month. April was chosen as the month to honor and remember the hundreds of lives lost during the worst tsunami events in Hawai'i's history.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recommends residents - including Department of Defense personnel and their families - review the evacuation area maps that are available on the City & County of Honolulu’s Department of Emergency Management (DEM) website at http://www.honolulu.gov/dem. Sea water inundation zone maps - that nearly mirror the evacuation area maps - are evaluated and compiled by USACE civil works technical branch personnel for Hawaii emergency management. The maps are also available on the state of Hawaii's ReadyHawaii smartphone app.
Former Honolulu District Emergency Management Chief Jeff Daniels said Hawaii is vulnerable to the threat of tsunamis due to its location in the Pacific Ocean, nearly in the center of the volcanic Ring of Fire that circles the Pacific Rim.
“Earthquake-generated tsunamis can reach Hawaii within just a few hours at speeds of nearly 500 miles per hour,” Daniels said.
On April 1, 1946 a magnitude 8.6 earthquake struck off the coast of Unimak Island in Alaska's Aleutian Islands. Five hours later a series of devastating tsunami waves, some reaching 55-feet in height, slammed into the Hawaiian Islands. The tsunami caused $26 million in damage and killed 159 people statewide, including six people on Oahu. The $26 million in damages inflicted in 1946 equates to $337 million in today's dollars.
More than 220 people in Hawai'i have lost their lives due to tsunami events since 1946, with tsunamis responsible for more deaths in the state than any other natural disaster, including hurricanes.
Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell recently stated in a recent DEM press release that, "When a tsunami is occurring, it's already too late to prepare, so I urge Oahu residents to take note of Tsunami Awareness Month and augment their emergency supplies as needed."
During Tsunami Awareness Month DEM reminds Hawaii residents and DOD personnel that:
There is no tsunami season - tsunamis are a year-round, 24-hour-a-day threat and pose a hazard to all shoreline areas of Hawaii.
- For distantly generated tsunamis, outdoor warning sirens will sound statewide. For locally-generated tsunamis there may not be enough time to sound sirens.
- Recognize the natural warning signs that a tsunami may be imminent, including rapidly rising or receding water from the ocean, the sound of a locomotive or jet plane coming from the ocean, and empty beaches.
- People located within a tsunami evacuation zone should quickly move to higher ground, or inland until they are at least 100 feet above sea level. If in an evacuation zone, residents must leave if ordered to do so. Tsunamis can travel at speeds of up to 500 miles per hour - much faster than a person can run.
- Don’t tie-up telephone or cellphone lines with non-emergency telephone calls. Rely on television, radio and official government social media accounts for the most current emergency information.
- Be familiar with tsunami evacuation zones in the areas where you live, work, and play. Check the front of your telephone book or www.honolulu.gov/dem/default.html
- Restock and replace the items in your disaster supply kit . Examples are available at: https://www.ready.gov/build-a-kit.
• Rehearse a Family Disaster Plan. Examples are available at: https://www.ready.gov/make-a-plan
• Follow the procedures specified by City & County and/or State emergency management officials via radio, television or official government social media sites.
Taking the time now to discuss tsunami hazards with families, developing a family disaster plan, and preparing a comprehensive disaster supply kit, will help residents be ready when the next tsunami strikes.
| Date Taken: | 04.09.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 04.10.2019 21:26 |
| Story ID: | 317523 |
| Location: | FORT SHAFTER, HAWAII, US |
| Web Views: | 145 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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