We received the following from the Redwood Coast Tsunami Work Group:
In coordination with CalOES, Humboldt County, Del Norte County, Mendocino County, local tribal governments, and the Redwood Coast Tsunami Work Group; the National Weather Service in Eureka, California will be conducting a test of the tsunami warning communications system on March 25th between 11 am and noon. The test will simulate the dissemination of a tsunami warning for a large tsunami wave originating from far away, such as in Alaska or Japan. Examples of events like this in the past include 1964 (Alaska) and 2011 (Japan) when tsunami waves hit our coastline from far away.
The test will trigger the Emergency Alert System (EAS) across the three county area resulting in alerts on radio and TV broadcasts, weather radio, and tsunami sirens in some areas. People on the coast may also hear test broadcasts from airplanes and receive reverse calling alerts from county governments. The Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) system for cellular phones will NOT be tested, but in a real emergency it would be activated for a Tsunami Warning.
A couple posters has been attached for you to use to advertise for this test of the emergency communications system. Radio and TV advertisements will be broadcast in advance of the test and CaltTans District 1 will likely utilize their changeable message signs to notify drivers ahead of the test like in previous years.
We recommend you take advantage of this test to review what you would do if you were provided notice that a tsunami wave will arrive in the range of 4 to 12 hours. Discuss your plan with family, friends, and coworkers. Confirm that you have multiple ways to receive the warning. Use maps, to determine if you are in a tsunami zone. If you are in the zone, then determine where you need to go to get to high ground. If you aren't in a designated tsunami zone, make it part of your plan to stay where you are located. Wait for official notification from local authorities to venture back into the tsunami zone during a real event.
If you have any questions about this test, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Ryan Aylward
Warning Coordination Meteorologist
National Weather Service
Eureka, California
www.weather.gov/eureka
707-443-6484 x223
