NOAA’S NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
DECLARES HAWAI`I THE FIRST TSUNAMIREADY STATE IN THE U.S.

Officials from NOAA's National Weather Service were in Honolulu today to praise Hawai`i’s civil defense team for completing a set of rigorous warning and evacuation criteria necessary to earn the distinction of the entire state being TsunamiReady and StormReady.

“It is with great pride that we announce Hawai`i as the first TsunamiReady state in America,” said U.S. Senator Daniel K. Inouye. “Hawai`i has experienced more tsunami threats than any other state in the union and we know how devastating they can be. As we near the one-year anniversary of the greatest tsunami of our lifetime, our hearts go out to those Indian Ocean countries who are still recovering. In Hawai`i, we have taken steps to be better prepared for the next tsunami. We have an emergency operations center in every county, a statewide siren system, evacuation maps in the phone books, regular drills, and public education programs. These provisions and others helped the State of Hawai`i become TsunamiReady and StormReady.”

“Hawai`i is proud and honored to receive the TsunamiReady Award on behalf of the hundreds of state personnel. It acknowledges their achievements, individually, as a department and our Administration over the past few years," said Governor Linda Lingle. "However, as we have learned this year from the Indian Ocean Tsunami and Hurricane Katrina, we can never be fully prepared. My Administration is proposing a comprehensive Emergency Preparedness Package focused on hazard mitigation, enhancing preparedness, and accelerating response and recovery efforts to help make Hawai`i better prepared in the years ahead. These initiatives, when fully implemented, will further strengthen our ability to save lives and protect property in the event of a disaster."

“All four counties in Hawai`i have earned the TsunamiReady and StormReady designation, making Hawai`i the first state in the United States to achieve this status,” said retired Air Force Brig. Gen. David L. Johnson, director of NOAA’s National Weather Service. “Through the StormReady program, Hawai`i will be better prepared to help protect the lives and property of its residents and visitors during severe weather events. The state of Hawai`i should take great pride in having gone the extra mile to provide its residents and visitors with the added measure of protection that the TsunamiReady program affords.”

Johnson presented a plaque that recognized Hawai`i’s work to Governor Linda Lingle during a news conference today in Waikiki. The TsunamiReady and StormReady designations must be renewed every three years.

TsunamiReady and StormReady community preparedness programs use a grassroots approach to help communities develop plans to handle tsunamis, local severe weather, wave impacts, and flooding threats, and help communities inform citizens of threats associated with each.

These programs are voluntary, and provide communities with clear-cut advice through a partnership between the local National Weather Service offices and state, county and local emergency managers. StormReady started in 1999 and has grown to more than 990 StormReady communities in 48 states and there are more than 20 TsunamiReady communities in six states.

To be recognized as TsunamiReady and StormReady, a community must:

“We are honored and proud to be recognized as StormReady and TsunamiReady by the National Weather Service,” said Major General Robert G.F.Lee, Hawai`i’s Adjutant General and Director of State Civil Defense. “This program provides us with improved weather warning and preparedness services for the entire state that will help us save lives.”

NOAA's National Weather Service is the primary source of weather data, forecasts and warnings for the United States and its territories. NOAA's National Weather Service operates the most advanced weather and flood warning and forecast system in the world, helping to protect lives and property and enhance the national economy.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship of our nation’s coastal and marine resources. Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners and nearly 60 countries to develop a global monitoring network that is as integrated as the planet it observes.

On the Web:

NOAA: http://www.noaa.gov

NOAA’s National Weather Service: http://www.nws.noaa.gov

TsunamiReady program: http://www.tsunamiready.noaa.gov

StormReady program: http://www.stormready.noaa.gov