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Wyden, Smith Work To Allow Oregon Universities
To Compete For New Tsunami Programs
Bipartisan legislation approved by Senate
Commerce Committee includes provision that would allow Oregon
universities to compete to house one of three regional tsunami
threat assessment projects
March 10, 2005
Washington, DC – Oregon
universities could have the chance to compete to host a pilot
project to conduct regional assessments of coastal vulnerabilities
to tsunami and other coastal hazards under a bill co-sponsored
by U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Gordon Smith (R-Ore.)
and approved by the Senate Commerce Committee today. The provision
allowing for university competition to host one of three pilot
projects is included in the bipartisan Tsunami Preparedness Act,
which would authorize the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) to establish, operate and maintain a national tsunami warning
system. Wyden and Smith worked with Oregon Health and Science
University (OHSU), Oregon State University (OSU) and others to
help make it possible for the universities to compete for the
funding and development of the pilot projects.
“Oregon universities have
long been pioneers in the cutting-edge research on tsunami and
the coastal landscape,” said Wyden. “This legislation
raises the potential for this research to be put to good practical
use for the benefit of Oregonians and all Americans living near
both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts.”
“The discoveries made
in Oregon universities will help save lives the next time these
catastrophic waves threaten the world’s coastlines,”
Smith said.
As outlined in the legislation,
the criteria for being selected to host a regional assessment
project are:
• Vulnerability to tsunami,
hurricanes, extreme weather, flooding and other coastal hazards;
• Dependence on economic
sectors and natural resources that are particularly sensitive
to coastal hazards;
• Opportunities to link
and leverage related regional risk observation, research, forecasting,
assessment, educational and risk assessment programs;
• Demonstration of strong
interagency collaboration in the area of risk management; and
• Access to NOAA and other
Federal agency programs, facilities and infrastructure related
to tsunami and other coastal hazards monitoring.
The selected project hosts will
be tasked with assessing risk to coastal areas of the United States
of tsunami and other coastal hazards, including sea level rise,
increases in severe weather events and climate change.
The Pacific Northwest, and particularly
Oregon’s 363 miles of coastline, is a region critically
susceptible to tsunami. The Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ) off
the Oregon and Washington coasts has a history of large earthquakes,
which can cause deadly tsunami similar in magnitude to the one
in the Indian Ocean in December 2004.
Oregon is a worldwide leader
in research on tsunami sensing, tracking and forecasting. For
example, OSU is home to the world’s largest multi-directional
wave basin that allows researchers to examine the effects of earthquake-induced
tidal waves.
The bill now goes to the full
Senate for its consideration.
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