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June 01, 2009
June 1, 2008
Majuro, MH – The Australian government in coordination with the Bureau of Meteorology (Aus), the Attorney-General’s Department (Aus), SOPAC, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands government conducted a ‘tsunami workshop’ last week May 25 to the 28 and comprised of various representatives from both the public and private sector. As a result of the 4-day workshop, a report along with recommendations to strengthen infrastructures, construction of evacuation shelters (schools, etc), among others, will be submitted shortly to the Australian Government for review.
The Republic of the Marshall Islands has a National Action Plan in place to address natural, as well as, human made disasters. While the National Action Plan is a multi-hazard approach and does not specifically address tsunami events, the National Action Plan is a solid step in the right direction, which may need to be practiced in mock situations to ensure all bases are theoretically and realistically covered in the event of a disaster. Although tsunamis are rare in the Republic of the Marshall Islands its volatility and swift nature remains a serious threat to the low lying coral atolls of the Marshall Islands.
The following time sequences were provided at the workshop that roughly estimated the amount of time it would need for a tsunami to hit landfall from the related oceanic trenches:
• 3.5 to 4 hours from the Solomon Trench,
• 3.5 to 4 hours from the Mariana Trench
• 4 to 5 hours from the N. Hebrides Trench
• 4.5 to 5 hours from the Tonga Trench
• 5 to 7 hours from the Papua Trench
• 6 to 7 hours from the Mindinau Trench
Based on the modeling done by the Bureau of Meteorology of Australia, the seismic activities deep within the Mariana Trench would in all probability produce wave swells that would gain strength and reach tsunami proportions prior to hitting landfall in the Marshall Islands. The threat of such an occurrence brings to the fore the fact that there is currently no specific tsunami warning and mitigation system in place, at least not on island The closest warning system is the one located at the NOAA Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Honolulu, which issues out bulletins to the Weather Service Office in Majuro, as illustrated in the following warning process:
Bulletins, Watches and Warnings are issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center at Ewa Beach, HI
Tsunami Bulletin —A statement that indicates an event—usually an earthquake—has occurred, and indicates whether or not a tsunami was generated.
Tsunami Watch— A message issued when a tsunami is within 6 hours of a specific location.
Tsunami Warning— A message issued when a tsunami is within 3 hours of a specific location
Warning Process: provided by WSO Majuro
Bulletin, Watch, Warning comes to WSO Majuro, National Emergency Management Coordination Office (NEMCO-Majuro) and to Weather Forecast Office (WFO) Guam where it sets off an alarm; WFO Guam contacts WSO Majuro as a backup and they contact NEMCO
Bulletin: WSO & NEMCO monitors situation to see if an actual tsunami was generated
Watch (within 6 hours): NEMCO issues a statement and/or notifies local mayors, outer islands (HF, VSAT, PEACESAT, V7AB) and emergency responders to get ready
Warning (within 3 hours): President, Chief Secretary or NEMCO will direct an island-wide or nation-wide coastal evacuations
Primarily for Distant Tsunamis
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