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SENATE APPROVES CREATION OF
NATIONAL TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEM
Wyden, Smith championed legislation to establish
national system
to help protect at-risk Oregon coastal residents from tsunami
July 5, 2005
Washington, DC – The U.S.
Senate has approved legislation sponsored by U.S. Senators Ron
Wyden (D-Ore.) and Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) that would allow for
the development of a national tsunami warning system to protect
more fully Oregon and the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of the United
States. Wyden and Smith joined U.S. Senators Ted Stevens (R-Alaska),
Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) and others in sponsoring the bipartisan
Tsunami Preparedness Act, which was introduced earlier this year
following the deadly south Asian tsunami. The legislation would
authorize the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) to establish, operate and maintain a national tsunami warning
system. On June 14, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake off the coast of
northern California prompted widespread evacuations up and down
the Oregon seaboard. Subsequent analysis by state emergency officials
revealed gaps in the tsunami alert system necessary to provide
adequate time for evacuations and the overall safety of coastal
communities.
“In recent weeks, Oregonians
along the Pacific coast have seen up close the threat posed by
tsunami to Oregon communities,” said Wyden. “The legislation
approved today will go a long way toward providing adequate early
warning systems to keep Oregonians safe.”
“In order to keep our
coastlines safe we need to put an effective warning system in
place,” said Smith. “It’s essential that every
preparation is made for a possible tsunami and that scientific
advancements are used to ensure that a reliable warning comes
before catastrophic waves.”
The legislation will expand
the system currently in place in the Pacific Ocean. NOAA has six
early warning buoys off the Pacific coast; however, only three
of these are working properly. The bill would fund the placement
of new sensors along the coastlines of the United States as well
as support the maintenance of those currently in place.
In addition, the bill directs
NOAA to provide any necessary technical or other assistance to
international efforts to establish regional systems in other parts
of the world. The proposed legislation calls for the new global
system to be in place by the end of 2007.
Further, earlier this year,
Wyden and Smith secured additional language to the legislation
approved today that would allow Oregon State University (OSU),
Oregon Health and Science University and others to compete to
host a pilot project to conduct regional assessments of coastal
vulnerabilities to tsunami and other coastal hazards.
Oregon is a leader worldwide
in research on tsunami sensing, tracking and forecasting. OSU
is home to the world’s largest multi-directional wave basin
that allows researchers to examine the effects of earthquake-induced
tidal waves.
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