04.04.05

Cantwell: Senate Must Pass Tsunami Safety Legislation

Recent Indian Ocean tsunami threats underscore needfor swift passage of Tsunami Preparedness Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As Congress returns to session this week, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell is calling for quick passage of the Tsunami Preparedness Act (S. 50). After last week's Indian Ocean earthquake and related tsunami warnings, Cantwell said the legislation should move to the top of the Senate's agenda. The Cantwell-cosponsored measure passed the Commerce Committee last month, and now awaits action by the full Senate.

"This latest tsunami scare in the Indian Ocean is a reminder of the need to prepare for the worst case scenario," said Cantwell, a member of the Senate Commerce Committee. "The Senate needs to pass tsunami safety legislation formalizing our nation's role in creating a global tsunami warning system. It will also start getting federal resources into the hands of vulnerable communities in Washington state. This is especially important because of the similarities between the Cascadia fault off our coast and the fault in the Indian Ocean that's creating the tsunami threat there."

Passed unanimously by the Senate Commerce Committee on March 10, the Tsunami Preparedness Act directs the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to assist the international community in establishing a global tsunami warning system. The bipartisan legislation will also improve the system of tsunami monitoring buoys off the coast of Washington and across the globe, require the immediate repair malfunctioning buoys, provide for additional tsunami risk assessments and authorize federal resources to help at-risk coastal communities.

Some 45,000 Washingtonians live within a mile of the Pacific coastline. Washington state is vulnerable to near-shore tsunamis generated by the Cascadia subduction zone. This huge fault lies right off the coast and, according to experts, looks disturbingly similar to the zone off Sumatra.

The Cascadia fault hasn't caused a major earthquake and tsunami event since the year 1700. However, during a Commerce Committee hearing earlier this year, a federal scientist told Cantwell that there is a ten to fourteen percent change of another major Cascadia quake within the next 50 years.

Cantwell recently participated in the Washington State Coastal Tsunami Summit and in January visited Seattle 's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL). PMEL provides research support to all aspects of the tsunami program in the U.S. and is home to many of the world's leading tsunami researchers. The lab will have a leading role in developing technology for the new global tsunami warning system.

Led by Chairman Ted Stevens (R-AK) and Ranking Member Daniel Inouye (D-HI), the full Senate is expected to pass the Tsunami Preparedness Act soon. Alaska, Hawaii and Washington are all key parts of the Pacific Tsunami Warning System.

A summary of the legislation follows below:

The Tsunami Preparedness Act

On January 24, 2004 Senator Cantwell introduced--along with Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Stevens (R-AK) and Ranking Member Inouye (D-HI)--the Tsunami Preparedness Act. This legislation was passed by the Committee on March 10, and directs the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to upgrade the existing Pacific tsunami detection and warning system, as well as expand it to any area in the Atlantic and Caribbean that NOAA determines is at-risk for a tsunami event. The bill will make significant improvements in the tsunami monitoring and detection system off the coast of Washington, including:

o The immediate repair of malfunctioning tsunami buoys. Just after the tragic Indian Ocean tsunami, it was discovered that three of the six existing Pacific Coast detection and warning buoys (also known as tsunameters) were not functioning or only transmitting data intermittently--including the buoy off the coast of Washington . The legislation requires NOAA to immediately fix these deep ocean detection buoys, and to notify Congress whenever a malfunction occurs.

o Comprehensive mapping of at-risk areas, such as the Puget Sound . While it's commonly known that almost 45,000 Washingtonians live less than a mile from the Pacific Coast , communities located near inland bodies of water can also be at substantial risk, depending on factors such as proximity to fault lines. At Sen. Cantwell's request, the bill's tsunami mapping and community outreach program was expanded to cover vulnerable inland bodies of water such as the Puget Sound and Strait of Juan de Fuca. NOAA estimates that more than 250,000 additional Washingtonians live in areas at risk from tsunami inundation—from Olympia and Seattle, to Everett and Bellingham . But to date, NOAA has not had the resources to complete inundation mapping for almost 50 of these at-risk communities in Washington. These areas will now be included in the bill's new community-based tsunami hazard mitigation program, which will improve inundation mapping, outreach and education, and integrated rescue and recovery guidelines.

o An expanded network of buoys and new tsunami warning centers. The bill will expand the current network of six tsunami detection and warning buoys to cover the entire Pacific Ocean, as well as at-risk areas in the Atlantic and Caribbean. It will also provide additional resources to our nation's two existing tsunami warning centers in Hawaii and Alaska. Relying on technology developed at Seattle's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL), these centers will monitor seismological, deep ocean and tidal data, as well as assess earthquakes that may have potential to generate tsunamis. These centers will also be responsible for issuing warning bulletins.

o An investment in tsunami research and technology. Seattle's PMEL will play a leading role in the bill's research program, which will focus on development of the next generation of tsunami prediction, detection, communication and mitigation technology. Already, PMEL is at work on the "next generation" of warning and detection buoys.

o Creating an integrated costal vulnerability and adaptation program. The bill that passed the Senate Commerce Committee incorporates a program designed to improve the resiliency of coastal communities to natural hazards and disasters. This effort will include three regional pilot projects that will provide regional assessments of U.S. coastal vulnerability to hazards associated with tsunami and other coastal hazards including sea level rise, increases in severe weather events, and climate variability and change. The new section also establishes a coordinated program to provide technical planning and assistance to coastal states and local governments as they implement these new warning and mitigation strategies. The bill authorizes an additional $5 million per year for the next six years to pay for these programs.

o A stable federal funding source. The bill authorizes $40 million annually through fiscal year 2012 to carry out these tsunami-related initiatives.

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