The Tsunami Strike! Pacific Edition module follows four main characters, including three students and an emergency manager, as well as scientists at the U.S. Tsunami Warning Center as they learn about and respond to a tsunami threat at various Pacific basin locations.
The story unfolds in a Prologue and five time increments that follow the character's responses as the tsunami moves across the Pacific basin. The scripts for each time increment and each location/main character are provided here.
Tilda's voice:
I still have a lot to do to get ready for this year’s science fair, but at least I think I have a great idea for my project. I’m going to find out everything I can about tsunamis and their causes and report on whether an earthquake near San Diego could generate one.
In 2010, we had a small tsunami here in San Diego—from an earthquake that happened in Chile, which is about a gazillion miles from here (well, over 8,800 kilometers or 5,500 miles to be more precise)! The waves during the tsunami from the earthquake in Chile weren’t really big—I guess they came into the harbor more like a really fast current and knocked some boats around and damaged a few docks. They had alerts on TV telling people to stay away from San Diego Bay, and especially the harbors and beach areas.
And the big earthquake near Japan in March 2011 sent waves here too, though of course they weren’t anywhere near as big as the tsunami in Japan. And apparently earthquakes near Alaska or other far-away places can create tsunamis that get all the way here too. I still need to find out exactly how that happens, and then see if earthquakes that happen right here could cause a tsunami like the one that happened in Japan.
We have small earthquakes every now and then, but there hasn’t been a really big one since I’ve been living here, and I’ve been here in Ocean Beach my whole life. But still, scientists say we could get a big earthquake any year. Even though the big San Andreas fault is more than 100 kilometers or 60 miles inland, there are plenty of small faults that can cause big damage. If we got a big earthquake and a big tsunami, that would be pretty scary. I wonder what we would need to do to be ready. Maybe I’ll add that to my report. I'd better get to work.
In our Ocean Beach neighborhood, we are higher up from the water and out of the tsunami evacuation zone. But there is a popular beach just down the hill that would be at risk. A little farther up the coast there’s Mission Bay and Pacific Beach, where my friends and I hang out on weekends. It’s always a busy area near the pier at Pacific Beach, and you can see lots of Tsunami Evacuation Route signs. But there are beaches all the way up the coast. That's a lot of people who would be in danger.
Last week I signed up for email alerts from the Tsunami Warning Center in Alaska. If there is a tsunami alert for the west coast of the U.S., I can read about it. There’s also a Pacific Tsunami Warning Center that puts out warnings for Hawaii and other islands and even other countries. I signed up for their alerts too, just out of curiosity. Both the Centers also have nice websites with lots of data and other information I'm still learning about.
And I just found a really great website called MetEd that has a bunch of online lessons about tsunamis—including one called Tsunami Strike! that should be fun. It's going to be a great resource for my project! It looks like they have lessons on just about everything I'll need for the report. Here’s one on where tsunamis occur—that seems like a good place to start.
Mike's voice:
I don’t mind working late to help my father prepare the fishing boat for a trip to the outer shelf. It’s fun, in fact. I help even when I have school the next day and know that I can’t go out with him. But school just ended for the year, so finally I’ll get my chance.
It’s hard work, fishing for a living, but it’s also exciting, especially when the catch is a big one. I have a lot of respect for my father. He’s been a fisherman all his life.
I may become a fisherman myself, but I also dream of going to college and becoming an oceanographer so I can understand the ocean even more. The sea is a mysterious place, and there’s so much we still don’t know about it. My father always reminds me of that. He tells me the ocean it’s still a mystery to him even though he’s lived next to it and worked on it his entire life.
There are times I wished I lived in a larger town or city. In Anchorage, or even in California, maybe. But Chignik is home, and I love being here.
It might seem isolated at times, especially in the long winters, but we’re connected to the rest of the world just as much as anyone.
In the summer months, the world comes to us. For the awesome salmon fishing, and for the sights. I love fishing, I love our mountains, I love this harbor. And I can even put up with the earthquakes.
We get those all the time it seems. Well, maybe a few times each year—enough to make it a part of life here in the Aleutians. This chain of islands sits at the edge of one of the deepest ocean trenches in the world, where one tectonic plate is slowly sliding beneath another. This plate movement is what causes earthquakes, volcanoes, and sometimes even tsunamis.
There’ve been several famous tsunamis in the past century near here. I’ve never seen one, but my parents did when they were young. That was the one that devastated Seward and the town of Valdez, in the Prince William Sound where the earthquake occurred. That was a long way from here, but we felt the effects. We are all linked together up here in this long island chain.
One of the most famous tsunamis in these parts of the islands wiped out an entire stone lighthouse. They say the waves were over 30 meters high. That’s just a part of life here in Chignik. We know it can happen. But we love it here anyway. We just plan ahead to make sure we won’t be swept away when a tsunami happens. We know we can’t save all our homes if a big one comes, but we can save ourselves.
The fishing boat is just about ready. I’ll be waking up pretty early tomorrow. Time to get home and hit the bed. As summer comes, you have to remind yourself to go to bed, because the sun takes so long to set this far north.
Amanda's voice:
Wow! Hilo is absolutely beautiful. I was a little worried it might ruin our vacation when I heard it was one of the rainiest cities in the US. But today, that’s hard to believe. From the hotel, we have a clear view of downtown Hilo across the bay. We can see all the way to the top of Mauna Kea, and we can see all the way to the horizon out to sea. While my little sister ogled the scenery, for the tenth time this week she said, “Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore.” I was beginning to get tired of it, but I laughed anyway, since we ARE from Kansas, you see.
We arrived this morning, and I immediately noticed the tsunami evacuation signs. The town seems so quiet and the bay seems so calm, it’s hard to believe they have to worry about such things. But they do. The Hawaiians even have their own name for a tsunami—I’m still trying to learn Hawaiian phonetics, but I think it’s pronounced Kai e ‘e. (kigh^ee eh-eh) From what I’ve read in the guide book, Hilo’s been struck by two of the biggest tsunamis in history. Coconut Island, which is just outside my hotel window, was completely washed over by waves almost as high as its tallest trees. They mark the height of tallest tsunami waves on one of the trees to help you imagine what it must have been like. But it’s still hard for me to imagine…
My parents, sister and I walked all around the bay earlier today, curious to see the pretty town and look for evidence of the tsunamis. We didn't have to go far. At one end of the bay there were only parks, wide streets, and parking lots. They had cleared all the destroyed buildings and never replaced them. That way, fewer people and buildings will be at risk if another tsunami comes along. On the sports fields, on the site where the biggest damage to the city happened, I watched the kids play for a while, and imagined what a nightmare those tsunami waves must have been. The first row of buildings is quite a ways back from the beach. The city is still in danger if a big tsunami strikes, but a lot less than in 1946.
And with the hills close by, people would have to run only a few blocks to be out of the danger zone. We walked along the historic street front, shopping and stopping for ice cream. Then we visited the famous Pacific Tsunami Museum to learn more about Hilo's past. The museum was filled with history and science displays, and one of the guides told us he’d survived the 1946 tsunami when he was a kid. We learned that tsunamis can travel across the entire ocean from the huge undersea earthquakes that create them. The two most famous tsunamis in Hilo actually started out in Alaska and Chile! I didn’t realize exactly how far that was until now.
Near the museum, we walked along the river that runs through town. As we crossed one of the bridges, I saw a sight that reminded me of one of the photos I’d just seen at the museum. A highway now runs where the railroad bridge used to be—the one that was destroyed in the 1946 tsunami. Someone told me that the phone book has instructions about tsunami evacuations, so I looked through it that night, before I went to sleep. Just in case.
(Dan is the Fire Chief & City Emergency Manager in Coos Bay, Oregon)
Dan's voice:
Just have time for a cup of coffee and catching up on email before my next meeting. The start of summer has been uneventful so far, thankfully, even with all the extra people on the beaches with this nice weather we're having. Being the Fire Chief in charge of a community like Coos Bay is challenging enough, but I also serve as city Emergency Manager. This means I have to be prepared for not just fires, but all sorts of potential threats and disasters, from hazardous spills, flooding, and tsunamis.
Tsunamis are one of the hardest to get our hands around, because they are so unpredictable, give us so little advanced warning, and occur so infrequently that people tend to forget the damage they can do. We have to have well thought out plans in place, and the public needs to know in advance what those plans are. This takes a lot of coordination and education—and a lot of time. It’s good I have a strong team to help when emergencies require quick action. There is so much coordination that needs to happen with local, county, and state officials that even the half dozen people we have in the office can have a hard time keeping up.
We’ve had tsunamis before, don’t get me wrong. In ’64 the Alaska earthquake sent us waves over 4 meters that damaged the Charleston Marina pretty badly, did a lot of other property damage in the state, and even drowned some people up north in Newport. In 2010, from the other end of the Pacific, the earthquake in Chile had the potential to do a lot of damage as well. Fortunately, in that case it only amounted to some strong currents that rocked the boats.
We saw good-sized waves from the Japan earthquake and tsunami in 2011 though…over a meter at Bastendorff Beach—that’s more than three feet! The West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Center issued a Tsunami Watch not long after the earthquake, and about 25 minutes later upgraded it to a Tsunami Warning for the Oregon and northern California coasts. The first wave arrived just after 7 a.m. local time. A one-meter tsunami is certainly much smaller than what hit Japan, but the rapid surge of water can be deadly if people are not careful. We evacuated low-lying areas and opened shelters at some schools and community centers. The Marina had some broken piers and boat damage. Some people still did the wrong thing and headed to beach areas to try to watch the waves. Luckily, no lives were lost, but there’s work to do educating people about the dangers of tsunamis.
Even scarier than these tsunamis from far away is the possibility of a local event. Scientists constantly remind us that we are way overdue for a local earthquake, one that could generate a big tsunami that would arrive with only minutes of warning—much like what Japan experienced. We have to be prepared for that as well. But let’s hope that one is a long time away, and let’s hope distant earthquake zones stay calm so we can continue our planning and education efforts and not have to put the disaster plans into action again soon.
Narrator's voice:
Far beneath the ocean’s surface lies the Aleutian Trench. The trench is over 6 km (4 miles) deep in places and marks the area where the Pacific plate is moving downward beneath the North American plate. Alaska’s Aleutian Islands experience numerous earthquakes as a result of this plate movement, but one area—the Shumagin Gap—has not had a major earthquake since 1903. Today, that built-up stress launches a devastating earthquake with far-ranging impacts.
(Mike is in his house, with brother Ivan and dog Nanga)
Mike's voice:
I woke up early with the help of the alarm clock, but I’m still yawning, waiting for coffee to brew. (takes a deep breath) Getting up for school is a piece of cake compared to waking up for fishing trips. There’s a long way to travel before we reach the fishing grounds, you see.
Cooking oatmeal and frying up sausage. Mmmm. The smells are making my stomach growl. (hmp, laugh) Our dog Nanga is growling too, crying actually. I wonder what’s up with that. That’s not a hungry crying, he sounds afraid.
Oatmeal’s done… now where’s the brown sugar?… (loud rumbing noise) What? Sheesh, that’s strong. (more rumbling, some crashing dishes)
Things are falling off the shelves. …Man, this is a bad one. Still shaking… Can’t stand up… (rumbling continues a bit more) (still more rumbling, more breaking things and falling things) (rumbling stops)
Oh no. This is a big one! I can’t believe how long the shaking kept going. And REALLY strong. I’ve never felt anything like that before. Nanga, it’s ok buddy.
When the tsunami experts visited our school we learned the phrase “Earthquake knocked me down, get to higher ground.” And especially if it lasts around 20 seconds or longer. This one had to be at least that long! We have to get out of here. Now! A tsunami might be here in a matter of minutes after such a big quake.
(The Warning Centers are staffed by scientists called Watchstanders. Watchstander is abbreviated WS below.)
WCATWC WS1: Let’s see what we have. Something big. And not far away. CHGN – that’s Chignik.
WCATWC WS2: Alright, there’s the location. It’s just off the Aleutians.
WCATWC WS1: Look at the long period data. This thing is really big! We need to get everybody in here. It looks like at least an 8! Do you have a magnitude yet?
WCATWC WS2: I’m getting a 7.8…….
WCATWC WS1: I’m getting 8.3. And location 55 North, 157 West. Wow, it looks like Shumagin Gap!
WCATWC WS2: The DARTs felt the seismic waves.. They’ll send data values for each minute now, at 8-minute intervals. We should know what’s happening soon.
WCATWC WS2: I’ve got a match on the location. And the magnitude is large…definitely above an 8.
Narrator: The tsunami scientists on duty—called WatchStanders—are busy analyzing the earthquake data to find out how big the quake is and where it is located. They are looking at data from seismometers all over the region, and need to make decisions very quickly—within just a few minutes—so that they can get a warning about a possible tsunami out to threatened communities as soon as possible. But determining the precise earthquake magnitude can be difficult, especially for large quakes that might overwhelm the instrument’s ability to record the shaking accurately.
(5-min alarm sounds)
WCATWC WS1: It’s been 5 minutes. The magnitude is looking higher than I thought. Around 8.5.
WCATWC WS2: Yes, I’ve got similar numbers. Somewhere around 8.3, 8.4, … Call Hawaii and see what they’ve got.
PTWC WS1: Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, George speaking. Oh, hi Colleen. Yes, we’ve got the location at 55 North, 157 West. Definitely big. We’re getting a magnitude…8.3 But it’s maxed out the measurement. It’s higher…probably at least 8.6 or 8.7…or more.
WCATWC WS1: Yes, it has to be more than 8.3. 8.6… 8.7…this thing looks bigger though. What do you think, …8.8?
PTWC WS1: That’s really probable for a first number. We know this one is big.
WCATWC WS1: OK, we’re going with a magnitude 8.8, location 55.0 North, 157.0 West and a depth of 45 km. Looks like it could be a busy morning. We’ll call you back if we have confirmation of moving water.
WCATWC WS2: I’m getting the warning out. We need to let people know this thing might have given us a wave. But I hope those folks near the quake know what to do and aren’t waiting for our warning.
BULLETIN
TSUNAMI MESSAGE NUMBER 1
NWS WEST COAST/ALASKA TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER PALMER AK
805 AM AKDT
...A TSUNAMI WARNING IS IN EFFECT WHICH INCLUDES THE
COASTAL AREAS OF BRITISH COLUMBIA AND ALASKA FROM THE NORTH
TIP OF VANCOUVER ISLAND BRITISH COLUMBIA TO ATTU ALASKA...
...A TSUNAMI WATCH IS IN EFFECT WHICH INCLUDES THE COASTAL
AREAS OF CALIFORNIA - OREGON - WASHINGTON AND BRITISH
COLUMBIA FROM THE CALIFORNIA-MEXICO BORDER TO THE NORTH TIP
OF VANCOUVER ISLAND BRITISH COLUMBIA...
PERSONS IN LOW-LYING COASTAL AREAS SHOULD BE
ALERT TO INSTRUCTIONS FROM THEIR LOCAL
EMERGENCY OFFICIALS. EVACUATIONS ARE ONLY
ORDERED BY EMERGENCY RESPONSE AGENCIES.
- PERSONS IN TSUNAMI WARNING COASTAL AREAS
SHOULD MOVE INLAND TO HIGHER GROUND.
- PERSONS IN TSUNAMI WATCH AREAS SHOULD
STAY ALERT FOR SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION.
PRELIMINARY EARTHQUAKE PARAMETERS
MAGNITUDE - 8.8
TIME - 0800 AKDT
0900 PDT
1600 UTC
LOCATION - 55.0 NORTH 157.0 WEST
105 MILES/169 KM SE OF CHIGNIK ALASKA
500 MILES/805 KM SW OF ANCHORAGE ALASKA
DEPTH - 28 MILES/45 KM
TSUNAMI MESSAGE NUMBER 1
NWS PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER EWA BEACH HI
605 AM HST WED
TO - CIVIL DEFENSE IN THE
SUBJECT - TSUNAMI WATCH
A TSUNAMI WATCH IS ISSUED
0605 AM HST.
MAGNITUDE - 8 8 MOMENT
STATE OF HAWAII
FOR THE STATE OF HAWAII EFFECTIVE AT
AN EARTHQUAKE HAS OCURRED WITH THESE PRELIMINARY PARAMETERS
ORIGIN TIME - 0600 AM HST
COORDINATES - 55.0 NORTH 157.0 WEST
LOCATION -
ALASKA PENINSULA
EVALUATION
BASED ON ALL AVAILABLE DATA A TSUNAMI MAY HAVE BEEN GENERATED BY
THIS EARTHQUAKE THAT COULD BE DESTRUCTIVE ON COASTAL AREAS EVEN
FAR FROM THE EPICENTER. AN INVESTIGATION IS UNDERWAY 'ro DETERMINE
IF THERE IS A TSUNAMI THREAT TO HAWAII .
IF TSUNAMI WAVES IMPACT HAWAII THE ESTIMATED EARLIEST ARRIVAL OF
THE FIRST TSUNAMI WAVE IS
1033 AM HST
MESSAGES WILL BE ISSUED HOURLY OR SOONER AS CONDITIONS WARRANT.
Wish I could get to Dad, but he’s probably already at the boat getting ready. Mom must be down there too, bringing us the lunch she packed up. It’s up to me I guess, like my dad said when we agreed to our family plan—“If you feel a big earthquake, don’t come looking for us. Just get your brother, if he’s around, and head up the hill.”
Ivan: “Mike, that was crazy. I’m scared. Where’s mom and dad? Should we get out of here?”
Michael: “Yeah, Ivan, it was a big earthquake. We’re OK, but we have to get out of here. Now. Grab your coat. Get your shoes on. It’s going to be chilly out there. And we need to get to the top of the hill.”
Ivan: “But what about Nanga? What about breakfast?”
Michael: “I’ll throw what’s left of the oatmeal and sausage in a container while you get dressed. And I’ll grab one of the jugs of water we keep around. We might be up the hill for a while. And don’t worry about Nanga. He’ll follow us. He’s been ready to go since before we even felt the quake.”
Ivan: (more distant, because he’s in the other room getting dressed) “Where are mom and dad? Shouldn’t we find them first?”
Michael: (with some sounds of banging pots) “NO. They’re probably at the boat They’ll run up the hill nearest to the dock. We’ve got to hurry. A tsunami might be here in 10 minutes—or less. You and I need to get up the hill. Now. Are you ready yet?”
Ivan: “I guess. Let’s go. NANGA, let’s go.” (sound of door closing and heavy breathing as they start to run)
Mike's voice:
We headed to the road that would take us up the hill that was easiest to climb. We met our friend Mary rushing out in the same direction. As we jogged down the road, the emergency siren went off just on our right, almost making us deaf for a while until we got closer to the hill. In school, we learned that we needed to get up higher than 30 meters, which is about the height of at least seven or eight houses stacked up. That meant there was no time to waste. We had no shortages of hills high enough, but it took time to climb.
As we climbed, we saw a couple boats on the bay. They had probably gotten an early start, and realized that their best chance was to head out to sea, if they could make it in time. I was hoping they’d make it. From the top of the hill, I could see that Dad’s boat was still in the harbor. He and mom had run up the hill on the other side of town, because that was the closest place to get to from the dock. We had talked about what to do in case this kind of thing ever happened. That’s how I knew to take care of Ivan and make sure we both got up the hill to safety. I hoped if it ever happened, Mom and Dad would be with us, but because we had our family plan, I knew they would be safe, and they knew we were doing what we were supposed to also.
From our vantage point we were able to watch the water and see most of the town. Low tide wasn’t scheduled for a few hours yet, but the water was retreating, which turned out to be a sign a tsunami was about to rush in. We could see tiny figures climbing the hills in several locations. Only a few people were still visible in town. Hopefully they would get out soon.
Tilda's voice:
Hmm. It’s a message from the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center. (very short pause) I don't believe it. There’s a Tsunami Warning for Alaska. And a Tsunami Watch for the entire West Coast! It says they don’t know yet if there is a tsunami but there could be one. Here’s the earthquake information: Magnitude 8.8, Shumagin Islands, Alaska. 8.8 is huge!, if I remember correctly. On the Warning Center website, it says, “A tsunami watch is issued to alert emergency management officials and the public of an event which may later impact the watch area…” I’m going to do that online lesson on seismic detection right now to review about earthquake magnitudes. I hope the people in Alaska are ok.
Narrator: At the West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Center, additional personnel are already arriving and beginning to staff the computer stations and phones. They are getting warning messages out to local areas along the Alaska coast, calling emergency officials in Alaska and other US states bordering the Pacific basin, and continuing with the earthquake analysis to determine whether a tsunami is happening.
Narrator: Watchstanders at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center are also issuing alert messages, which report the quake location, magnitude, and potential for a tsunami. Large events like this one are rare, but everyone on the staff knows what to do and how to work together in the chaos of ringing phones and continuously arriving data.
(Dan is arriving at work. This segment also includes Linda, the Emergency Manager for Coos County in western Oregon.)
(Sound of cell phone alert)
Dan (to himself): ”Uh-oh, this could be a big one. Magnitude 8.8. Last time Alaska had an earthquake this big we had a lot of damage in Oregon. No time to lose. I’d better check in with the county and with North Bend. I think I’ll give the Medford National Weather Service office a call as well…they’ll have the latest information from the Tsunami Warning Center.”
(Office phone rings)
Dan: Well, it looks like someone beat me to it and they’re calling me instead. Good to know we’re all monitoring the situation. Hello, Dan here.
Linda: Dan, it’s Linda. Did you get the alert?
Dan: Yes, I just saw it. Let’s get working. If this changes to a warning, and it looks like it might, we need to be ready pronto. I’ll check with the National Weather Service.
Linda: And I’ll contact Susan, your counterpart up in North Bend. Give me 10 minutes, then let’s all get together to review our plans. Ciao.
Dan (to himself) Summer almost here! Hundreds of campers at the beach, and my Anna and Adam are among them. They left early this morning on a school trip with their environmental science club. Going to be a busy day. Good thing we have a plan, but I really hoped we wouldn’t have to use it. (Phone rings again)
Dan: Hello, Dan here….
(Both Centers are staffed by Watchstanders, abbreviated WS in the dialog below.)
WCATWC WS3: It’s a thrust fault earthquake. Have we heard from Chignik? (pause) Make sure the emergency managers know they should have everyone evacuated from near the coastline.
WCATWC WS1: We’ve can’t get through to Chignik. The phone lines there are down. We just talked to Kodiak and King Cove. And Perryville, Akutan, and Seward. They’ve begun coastal evacuations already. (pause) Do we have data from a DART yet?
WCATWC WS4: Not yet. We just got magnitude confirmation from NEIC. 9.0.
WCATWC WS5: If we can’t phone Chignik, let’s get the Coast Guard out there.
Narrator: The West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Center Watchstanders now have a confirmed magnitude from the NEIC, or National Earthquake Information Center. It’s a 9.0, one of the largest quakes on record. And it’s very close to the Alaska’s Aleutian islands. A thrust fault earthquake in this area can easily generate a tsunami that would threaten all of the Aleutians and potentially locations all around the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center staff is also scrambling to study the incoming data and get messages out. Immediately after the quake occurred, the DART buoys used to measure sea level in the open ocean began sending more frequent data to the Warning Centers. But it still takes time for the wave to reach a buoy where it can be detected.
WCATWC WS2: OK, here we go. First DART is picking up the wave… Look at that, it still hasn’t peaked… This thing is big. Did someone get the Coast Guard en route to Chignik?
WCATWC WS5: They’re going to be on their way, but we’ve got quake damage and emergencies all along the Aleutians. They’re making sure to clear the harbors.
WCATWC WS1: OK, we’ve got a sizeable wave at the DART. And updated magnitude info. I’ll check in with the Pacific Center. (sound of phone ringing)
PTWC WS1: Hi again, Colleen. Looks like moving water?
WCATWC WS1: Yes, we’ve got a wave. A big one. And NEIC says 9.0 for the magnitude.
PTWC WS1: Yes, updating the magnitude to 9.0. We’re going to a Pacific-wide warning.
WCATWC WS1: We’ve got warnings all along the West Coast. Including 9.0 magnitude and the first DART report off the coast of Alaska for our message update.
Narrator: It’s approximately 30 minutes since the earthquake. Watchstanders at the Tsunami Warning Centers are continuing to analyze the quake data and can’t get in touch with Chignik, the community closest to the epicenter. The earthquake may have caused substantial destruction there and all along the Aleutians, and phone lines and communications are down. Even as the Watchstanders are working to get the Coast Guard out to the community, the water along the shoreline is beginning to withdraw.
BULLETIN
TSUNAMI MESSAGE NUMBER 2
NWS WEST COAST/ALASKA TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER PALMER AK
835 AM AKDT
...A TSUNAMI WARNING IS IN EFFECT WHICH INCLUDES THE
COASTAL AREAS OF BRITISH COLUMBIA AND ALASKA FROM THE NORTH
TIP OF VANCOUVER ISLAND BRITISH COLUMBIA TO ATTU ALASKA...
...A TSUNAMI WATCH IS IN EFFECT WHICH INCLUDES THE COASTAL
AREAS OF CALIFORNIA - OREGON - WASHINGTON AND BRITISH
COLUMBIA FROM THE CALIFORNIA-MEXICO BORDER TO THE NORTH TIP
OF VANCOUVER ISLAND BRITISH COLUMBIA...
A TSUNAMI HAS BEEN GENERATED WHICH COULD CAUSE DAMAGE TO THE
WARNING REGIONS LISTED IN THE HEADLINE. PERSONS IN LOW-LYING
COASTAL AREAS SHOULD BE ALERT TO INSTRUCTIONS FROM THEIR LOCAL
EMERGENCY OFFICIALS. EVACUATIONS ARE ONLY ORDERED BY EMERGENCY
RESPONSE AGENCIES.
- PERSONS IN TSUNAMI WARNING COASTAL AREAS SHOULD MOVE INLAND TO
HIGHER GROUND.
- PERSONS IN TSUNAMI WATCH AREAS SHOULD STAY ALERT FOR
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION.
A TSUNAMI HAS BEEN OBSERVED AT THE FOLLOWING SITES -
DEEP-WATER PRESSURE SENSORS INDICATE THAT A TSUNAMI HAS BEEN
GENERATE APPROXIMATELY 105MI/170KM SOUTHEAST OF CHIGNIK AK.
PRELIMINARY EARTHQUAKE PARAMETERS
MAGNITUDE - 9.0
TIME - 0800 AKDT
0900 PDT
1600 UTC
LOCATION - 55.0 NORTH 157.0 WEST
105 MILES/169 KM SE OF CHIGNIK ALASKA
500 MILES/805 KM SW OF ANCHORAGE ALASKA
DEPTH - 28 MILES/45 KM
TSUNAMI BULLETIN NUMBER 002
PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER/NOAA/NWS
ISSUED AT 1735Z
... A WIDESPREAD TSUNAMI WARNING IS IN EFFECT ...
A TSUNAMI WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR
RUSSIA / MIDWAY IS. / HAWAII / JAPAN / JOHNSTON IS. / WAKE IS. /
MEXICO / MARCUS IS. / PALMYRA IS. / MARSHALL IS. / KIRIBATI /
JARVIS IS. / N. MARIANAS / HOWLAND-BAKER / POHNPEI / KOSRAE /
GUAM / CHUUK / NAURU / COOK ISLANDS / YAP / TOKELAU / TUVALU /
CHINESE TAIPEI / FR. POLYNESIA / BELAU / PHILIPPINES / SAMOA /
AMERICAN SAMOA / WALLIS-FUTUNA / PAPUA NEW GUINEA / NIUE /
INDONESIA / SOLOMON IS. / VANUATU / TONGA / GUATEMALA / FIJI /
EL SALVADOR / NICARAGUA / KERMADEC IS / COSTA RICA / HONDURAS /
PITCAIRN / PANAMA / ECUADOR / NEW CALEDONIA / NEW ZEALAND /
COLOMBIA / AUSTRALIA / CHILE / PERU / ANTARCTICA
AN EARTHQUAKE HAS OCCURRED WITH THESE PRELIMINARY PARAMETERS
ORIGIN TIME - 1600Z
COORDINATES - 55.0 NORTH 157.0 WEST
DEPTH - 45 KM
LOCATION - ALASKA PENINSULA
MAGNITUDE - 9.0
EVALUATION
INITIAL SEA LEVEL READINGS FROM DEEP OCEAN GAUGES CONFIRM
THAT A SIGNIFICANT TSUNAMI HAS BEEN GENERATED WHICH COULD CAUSE
WIDESPREAD DAMAGE. AUTHORITIES SHOULD TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION
IN RESPONSE TO THIS THREAT.
Mike's voice:
I wish I had my binoculars. I see people on the hill across the valley but can’t tell who it is. It might be Mom and Dad and some of the others who were at the dock. I can see a foamy frothy line in the water, entering the bay. That could be the first tsunami wave. Ivan is shivering, so I put my hand on his shoulder. It could be the cold breeze or because he’s scared, or both. I don’t blame him. I hope the boat and our house survive, but at least we’re safe up here on the hill. Mom and Dad should be in a safe place too. And Nanga is here with us. But the water looks fast, and scary. What’s going to happen to our town, I don’t know.
Tilda's voice:
Here’s another alert. We already have a Tsunami Warning here in California and Oregon! They’ve changed the magnitude to 9.0. That’s an even bigger earthquake than they originally thought! From what I read online, it’s tough to get an exact number right away…it takes a lot of analysis, especially in big quakes, and 9.0 is huge! The message says that a tsunami has definitely been generated and observed by things called deep-water pressure sensors. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has issued a Warning for Hawaii too. I think my cousins were going to be in Hilo about now, and Hilo is famous for big tsunamis. Oh no. If I can concentrate, I’m going to try to take more of those Tsunami Strike lessons while I wait for the next alert update and, hopefully, a message from Amanda.
(Amanda is in Hilo hotel with her mother and father.)
Amanda's voice:
The sun was just rising when the phone rang and woke all of us up. I remember thinking “that’s strange… no one knows us here.” Mom found the phone in the still darkened room, and she let out a big yawn as she picked up the receiver. “Yes. Hello?”
She paused for what seemed like a long time. Then when she finally responded, she sounded nervous this time, rather than sleepy. “Of course. We’ll start getting ready immediately.”
I didn’t like the sound of that. Dad was sitting up now too. “What is it, Cathy?” “
Mom: “I can’t believe it, but it wasn’t a joke. The hotel front desk called and they just received word that a tsunami is expected to arrive in just a few hours. We have to evacuate! They have instructions for us downstairs.”
Dad shot out of bed, and began throwing on his shirt and pants, saying he’d run down to reception to see what else he could learn there. He said, “Don’t panic!” But he sounded panicked to me. He asked the rest of us to wash up and start packing while he figured out where we were supposed to go. Then the reality sank in, after all that study about tsunamis yesterday, we might really experience one first hand! We needed to wake up quick and check the news. It was barely past 6:30—no wonder I felt like it was a dream. I looked outside. The bay was as calm as it was yesterday. In fact, some kids were taking a morning swim out by Coconut Island.
Sis ran to the TV, as usual. They were already talking about the tsunami and the earthquake that started it. It happened way up in Alaska, out in the Aleutian Islands, but they were saying a tsunami could hit all the states on the West Coast, as well as Alaska and Hawaii. It would be almost 4 hours until it got here. I got dressed and went out on the patio. Still calm. I guess that’s how it would be until the first wave arrived. I checked out my phone and found that Tilda had already been up and was trying to warn me.
(Dan in Coos Bay, with Linda in Coos County and Susan in North Bend)
Dan (to himself): What a difference an hour makes. We’re under a Warning now. I just got off a conference call with the National Weather Service, who have the latest reports from the Tsunami Warning Center. They’ve had some huge waves in Alaska. This is real.
Dan on the phone: Linda, Susan, I’m really glad we do our monthly tests. It pays to drill. We’re ready for this. First, we’ll shut down Cape Arago highway and Seven Devil’s roads toward the coast.
Linda: “Yeah. We can’t have any more people heading out to the beach. We have to get the State Parks people out to evacuate campers and picnickers at Sunset Bay, Shore Acres, and Cape Arago. We also have to get our officers to drive through all the low-lying areas around the bay to notify everyone. Susan, how are things in North Bend?
Susan: I've got my staff up here hitting the phones and the streets. I’ll be calling the airport, clearing the parks up north, and making sure no one else can head out to the dunes via Jordan Cove Road and Trans Pacific. Linda, you’re contacting the state about the other access roads, right?
Linda: Yes. And I have on my list to notify the water treatment plant, the Coast Guard, the Charleston Marina, the Institute of Marine Biology . . . and the list goes on.
Dan: The authorities have surely gotten the alert and have already started getting people out of the Dunes National Recreation Area. That’s where my kids Adam and Anna were heading on a school camping outing this morning. We were actually talking about tsunamis a while back though. Adam’s pretty tech-savvy, and I think he signed up to get the alerts on his cell phone.
Linda: Oh no, Dan! I didn’t know they were out there.
Dan: Don’t worry. I know Jane Kelley, their teacher. She always takes NOAA Weather Radio with her—so they will definitely get the alerts from NOAA that way. I already sent them a text message, and I suspect I’ll hear back soon. I trust the parks staff and Oregon State Police will be out there warning people, and they’ll either make it back or weather this out on the high dunes.
Dan: I’ll be working on making sure the low roads near the bay and slough are blocked soon, it looks like high tide and the tsunami will arrive at about the same time, unfortunately, so we may get high water in places we normally wouldn’t worry about. Linda, should we get back together in an hour for updates and walking through our…?”... (he fades out)
Amanda's voice:
When the siren sounded, my first thought was: Tornado! That’s what we get back in Kansas. But I already knew this siren was to let people know about the tsunami. The TV said there might be big waves in Hawaii. Our hotel sits right on the edge of the bay. This can’t be good.
I was already beginning to throw stuff in my suitcase when Dad returned. Mom was packing for everyone else. Dad said that even though the hotel was built to withstand a pretty large tsunami, it was not really safe to stay there, apparently, unless there was no other choice. The upper floors would probably be safe, but the whole area might be a mess of debris, and getting out would be dangerous. So, we had to evacuate.
Dad warned us that the hotel staff would start making the rounds soon to make sure people were awake. In fact, the reception area was already buzzing with people ready to round up the hotel guests and tell them what to do. We had two choices, we could go to an evacuation site they’d prepare, a shopping plaza that was just outside the evacuation zone, or we could drive on our own to another spot. The staff warned Dad that no beach on the entire island would be safe. Sis was almost in tears, but Dad calmed her down by saying that there was still plenty of time to pack the car and drive to a safe place.
Even though there were a few hours before the tsunami arrived, they told us to plan to be out in an hour, because traffic might back up and make driving anywhere a mess. Dad had a great idea. We could drive back to where we had stayed two nights ago, Volcano Village. Just an hour away. He was pretty sure the condo we rented was still empty until the weekend, but he would call ahead just to make sure. Since we’d need to stay away no less than 12 hours, we might as well be comfortable. If there was serious damage, we might not want to return at all. And with us out of the way, the authorities would have one less family to take care of. OK. We had a plan. That felt good.
Sis complained that we hadn’t eaten breakfast yet, but Mom just handed her a box of crackers and promised that we’d stop at a store as soon as we got out of the evacuation area.
WCATWC WS4: All kinds of wave reports have been coming in. Seward, a 0.74 meter tsunami observed. Sitka, 1.66 meters. Reports along the British Columbia coastline too .They've reported some harbor damage in Seward. We just got word that Moclips and Long Beach are evacuating. ...Attu, 0.38 meters. North Vancouver Island, 0.74 meters...
Narration: The Warning Center in Alaska has been providing frequent updates to NOAA offices along the West Coast and is just beginning its latest update
WCATWC WS5 (on phone): Hi everyone, thanks for joining this conference call. It will be the last before many of you begin to see impacts from the tsunami. Washington and Oregon coastal communities should be evacuated or nearly finished evacuating.
PTWC WS2: “Waves along the Aleutians and down to northern Washington state.”
PTWC WS3: “Three-quarters of a meter at Vancouver Island.”
PTWC WS2: “Some significant waves reported in Russia also.”
PTWC WS3: “Any new model data we can give Alaska?”
PTWC WS2: “Moclips was modeling at 1.3 meters. We should have some comparisons with observations soon.”
PTWC WS3: “We’ve got only minutes before we see first waves at Kahului. And only an hour or so until they’re at Hilo. They should already be wrapping up evacuations there.”
Narrator: At both Centers, more sea level gauge data are being reported. The tsunami has arrived at many coastal locations throughout the Aleutians and British Columbia, damaging many piers and harbors. And still the waves continue to move across the basin. Large waves are expected far south of the earthquake, due to the path of the tsunami’s primary energy. The Watchstanders use buoy and coastal gauge data as well as local reports to track its progress and get updated warning products out to locations still to be affected. Both Warning Centers are also giving frequent media briefings to alert people to what’s happening. Emergency managers in areas in the tsunami’s path are working quickly to get their shorelines cleared of people.
(Dan, with Linda in Coos County and Susan in Northbend)
Dan: "Hi Linda, hi Susan. You know, it's days like this when I think I should have a phone surgically attached. Looks like law enforcement has finished blocking off all the roadways into low-lying areas. I heard that Cape Arago Highway is clear now."
Linda: "Great. That will keep the curious people from putting themselves at risk and slowing down those who need to evacuate. The harbor master at Charleston got the word to vessel owners to get their boats out to sea. Those who got out early didn't have to fight the worst of the tide, but it got harder as time went on. It has taken a while, but they are almost all moved now, except those whose owners weren't in town or able to get there in time.
Dan: We’ve called the Emergency Alert System and the sirens have gone off twice already. It’s just over an hour or so now until arrival time—we’ll sound the siren again in a few minutes, and then one more time at 30 minutes. Have you guys looked at the latest sea level gauge data to see the impacts farther north? They've had waves over a meter high, but they're predicting higher one's here, even though we’re farther from the quake.”
Linda: “The State Parks staff has been handling getting people off the beaches. I just spoke to the water treatment plant in Empire—they’re evacuating all non-essential personnel and will follow their own plan about whether to close if they start to flood. They’re expecting a runup of about a meter at Charleston, so the Coast Guard base is moving its helicopters to higher ground and evacuating the housing in the hazard zone. Even the Charleston Rural Fire District has been moving equipment to higher ground."
Susan: The Regional airport knows they could get water—they’ll plan operations accordingly, and probably close some runways. My staff is keeping busy working the phones and communicating with everybody out there.”
Dan: Sounds like most places should be pretty deserted by now, down to just a few essential personnel. That means we've done our job. But I'm still concerned about people who might be hanging out on Bastendorff Beach and along Sunset Bay waiting to see the waves arrive and take photos and video. I know the rangers warned them, but they can't force them to leave. Ryan at the National Weather Service says the Tsunami Warning Center is predicting over 2-meter wave heights there. With the runup, the waves might surprise people, and even reach a long ways up the creek beds. The Dunes will be a dangerous area also, of course. Sand might get washed away where people think they are safe.”
Susan: "Did you hear from Adam and Anna yet?"
Dan: "No" (he sounds worried)
Tilda's voice:
The alerts keep coming from both of the Warning Centers. I’ve also gone to their Websites to read the longer warning messages and look at the graphics they put up. No change, except that they are more certain it’s a big tsunami that will strike throughout the Pacific. They had over 3-meter waves at one place in Alaska. That’s more than 10 feet! And there are more reports of the tsunami hitting Canada. The TV news is all about this event—it’s a big deal! There’s a lot of damage, but that's all they say so far. They expect the waves to be here in San Diego at around 3:00 this afternoon. But they should already be close to Hawaii, which reminds me I need to try Amanda again. I haven’t gotten any replies since she was leaving Hilo. I hope that just means she can’t get a good phone signal wherever she is. I’m really curious how they can get here so fast—that’s over 4000 kilometers (2500 miles). I think there’s a lesson on that too in Tsunami Strike.
(break in time, then sound of cell phone dialing
Adam (son): Hello?
Dan: Adam, it’s Dad. Finally got through to you. Where are you now?
Adam: “Hi, Dad. We’re almost back to North Bend. I tried calling but it kept getting
dropped. We’re fine.
We’re in Mrs. Kelley’s car. We decided we’d just
come back to town or at least get inland. The roads have been slow, but we’re almost
there. I guess they're going to let us cross the bridge over the bay, so we’ll head
back to school and unload equipment.Here…Anna wants to talk.
Anna (daughter): Hi, Dad. So much for our camping trip. How are you?
Dan: Oh, it’s been a pretty busy day. I’m so glad to hear from you guys. What’s it like out there?
Anna: We had just unpacked all our stuff when the NOAA Weather Radio alert when off. We weren’t sure why it was going off…it’s a nice day after all. Then we heard the information about a Tsunami Watch for the Oregon coast. Mrs. Kelley said it was ok to stay for now, but that we needed to listening to see if it was cancelled or changed to a warning. We decided not to set up camp yet, fortunately, and instead we started working on some inventories of the dunes plants. And then it was a Tsunami Warning!
Dan: Glad you had a weather radio with you. Is that when you decided to leave?
Anna: We were listening to the Weather Radio report about the confirmed tsunami and some rangers came by telling us we needed to move everything to higher ground. They said we’d have to stay there until the tsunami warning was called off, which could be hours. So we ended up packing again right away.
Everyone all along the beach was packing up. A few people were going to camp higher in the dunes, but we decided to head back into town or toward Lakeside. We couldn’t help remembering those videos from the Japan tsunami. It was a little bit scary. We couldn’t get through on the phone.
Dan: Yes, I’m sure the phone system is pretty overwhelmed. What is the plan now? Do you need to find a way home, or will you have things to do at school and stay there?
Anna: Well, the school is far enough from the water so we’ll go there. Mrs. Kelley says we might as well unload all the equipment, and then we can watch TV in the media room for updates about the tsunami. Unless we can go help somewhere?
Dan: No. The best place you can be is somewhere safe, so stay at the school. Don’t make any more calls, especially ones to friends—we want to try to keep the phone system open for emergencies. I’ll pick you up later, OK?
Anna: OK, Dad. I’ll talk to you later. Bye!
Dan's voice:
Preparation sure is a good thing. The preliminary damage reports coming in aren’t too bad. The water came into the bay pretty rapidly, and there’s still some flooding in low-lying areas and near the airport. The docks at the marina got shaken up a bit, and some of the boats broke from their moorings. But no injuries reported anywhere. More information is still coming in though. And the next waves could be higher… I’ll check in with Linda again. If there’s property damage and people are displaced from their homes, we need to set up long-term shelters. The Red Cross can help.
For those who lived where there was flooding and had damage to their home or might have lost belongings, there's a recovery process in place. And because tsunamis can be traumatic, families who experienced the waves might need counseling. The county has a Family Assistance Center to provide help to people who are dealing with what they experienced…maybe they don’t feel safe near the water anymore…but there are trained people who can help them. The damage reports will continue to come in. It could still be an even longer day… (sound of phone ringing)
WCATWC WS4: “More data just in. 1.95 meters at Cascade Head.”
WCATWC WS5: “Damage reports from Lincoln City and areas south along the central Oregon coast. Wrecked piers and possible missing persons.”
WCATWC WS1: “Southern Oregon beaches are probably starting to get waves now. And we should get reports from Crescent City soon. Santa Barbara and San Diego are still in the path. Are we in contact with their emergency managers? If they haven’t cleared the beaches, make sure they know this is a serious situation.”
WCATWC WS4: “We’ve got a group of reporters waiting for new information. We’ll let them know Oregon could be seeing big waves for a while yet.
WCATWC WS5: “Initial report from Bastendorf Beach…2.3 meters. And first California reports…Point Reyes, 1.48 meters and pier damage.”
PTWC WS2: First wave hit Kahului. 2.31 meters. Getting reports all around the islands. Some fairly large waves. Hilo’s still in path...we should hear from them soon. 1.17 in Nawiliwili.
PTWC WS 3: This is really a dangerous situation. I hope people are staying safe.
Amanda's voice:
We were happy we made it out of Hilo and to Volcano Village with plenty of time to spare. We even found a grocery store on the way. It had huge lines, but we were still able to get what we needed for a couple days. We all pitched in to make the shopping go as fast as possible, before they sold out of everything. We bought only what we needed, not wanting to take more than our share. Mom made Sis put back the five boxes of cheese crackers. One would do.
We were safe up in the rain forest, but on the TV, the local news said it was bad in Hilo. There were no deaths reported, but it was still early. The first wave was over 2 meters, and it ripped some boats loose and pushed some stranded cars into buildings. They showed helicopters flying over the town, looking for people who might be stranded or hurt. I saw the hotel from the air, and the grounds looked completely trashed. And they had been so beautiful! But the hotel itself looked OK.
I was really sad to be seeing Hilo this way. Dad said that the day after tomorrow we would drive north, as we planned, but we’d have to bypass Hilo and drive over the mountain. During the trip, no one spoke, not even Sis, until we were half-way up the mountain.
Tilda's voice
They’re saying this is historic. All the news stations say that the tsunami has been huge all along the U.S. west coast and in Alaska. Biggest in years. Even bigger than the one that came from Japan. The news just showed the waves arriving here in San Diego. It’s not over but so far we are luckier than most in not having horrible wreckage and flooding. Over a 1-meter wave at La Jolla! They get bigger waves than that for surfing all the time, but not tsunamis like this where the water keeps on coming.
The news people say there’s been lots of boat damage in Mission Bay. It sounds like most people did what the lifeguards said and went inland or to higher ground, but a few are reported missing. Some people were seen along the bay and even at Silver Strand Beach, probably trying to get a good look at the waves, not thinking it would be so dangerous. More waves are still coming and they were warning people to continue to stay away. It sounds like the harbors are kind of a mess because there is debris floating everywhere.
It just seems so crazy that the waves came from so far away. But now I understand more about how that happens. What a time to decide to do a school project about tsunamis!
PTWC WS1: Coastal gauge reports are coming in from all over the islands. Big waves. None of the calls have reported fatalities in Hawaii, so that’s good news at least.
PTWC WS2: We’ve still got a lot of basin to worry about. We just did a call with Tuvalo. Officials there are getting everyone up to higher ground. A lot of these island communities are going to see some inundation.
PTWC WS3: Good that we got the warning message out. Lots of coordination still to do with our partners in Guam, the Samoa Islands, the Marquesas, and other places. Some are covered by other countries’ warning centers, but some are not. The media folks are asking for another interview too. We’ve still got a long day ahead of us. Let’s pull in all the latest gauge data and start preparing an update.
Narrator: The seas turn frothy as the waves generated by the early morning Alaska earthquake reach the normally tranquil shores of the Marquesas Islands. Runup is 1.1 meters in Hiva Ova and 0.9 meters in Nuku Hiva—enough to damage some boats in the harbors and flood some low-lying areas. The island’s inhabitants are familiar with tsunamis. The 1946 Great Alaska tsunami that also devastated Hilo caused runups of up to 14.6 meters on the Marquesas, resulting in extensive flooding with large coral boulders carried hundreds of meters inland.
The February 2010 Chile earthquake and tsunami brought waves of 4 meters or 13 feet to parts of the islands, but caused no fatalities. Waves following the March 2011 Japan earthquake were reported to be as high as 3 meters. The island might seem isolated in its South Pacific location, but as you can see, it sometimes feels the impacts of earthquakes half way across the globe.
Narrator: As the tsunami approaches Valparaiso Chile, waves of 0.6 meters are reported at the tide gauge. Fortunately for the citizens, the damage is not significant, although strong currents make the beaches and harbor areas dangerous. Residents of this colorful port city are well aware of the dangers of earthquakes and tsunamis that can come from both local and distant sources.
In the 1960 Chile earthquake, the world’s largest in recorded history at magnitude 9.5, many buildings collapsed and one in three homes within the earthquake zone were destroyed. It’s difficult to imagine as you look at the thriving city now, but the quake and tsunami displaced two million people and killed over a thousand.
The city’s location along a natural harbor can result in large tsunami runups. After the February 2010 Chile earthquake, families rushed from the low-lying areas toward the hills. After that earthquake, waves measured 2.6 m (almost 6 feet) at the tide gauge, the highest recorded at any major tide gauge around the Pacific basin that day. The Chilean coast also experienced nearly 2-meter high waves following the March 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami.
Narrator: After traveling almost 21 hours and 16,000 kilometers from Alaska, the tsunami finally approaches Antarctica. As waves almost one meter high close in on the coast, they sneak up on a rookery of very surprised Adelie penguins. Aside from the penguins and a small number of people at the Palmer Research Station, very few beings are aware of the tsunami washing over the edges of the ice.