It’s Tsunami Awareness Week in Alaska. State officials are asking residents prepare themselves for potential disaster, along with testing early warning systems.
As part of the awareness effort this week, Alaska Division of Homeland Security, the National Weather Service, and the Alaska Broadcasters Association are putting on the yearly test the early warning system for tsunamis.
Jeremy Zidek is a Public Information Officer with Alaska State DHS. He says the warning messages will be broadcast over the radio and television.
“People may be used to hearing that weekly EAS test message but this is going to use the actual codes that would be used during a tsunami,” said Zidek.
But Zidek says there are ways to figure out if a tsunami is coming even before a message is sent out.
“The ground shakes violently for 30 seconds or more. And if you’re in a coastal area and you feel that violent shaking, you shouldn’t wait for some kind of emergency warning to tell you to get to higher ground or to move inland,” said Zidek.
Zidek also says residents in coastal regions should take this week to evaluate their preparedness for if a tsunami hits close to home.
“It’s just a really good opportunity for everybody to take a look at their community. Research what their tsunami vulnerability is, talk to their family members about when they would need to evacuate, where they would need to go, what those evacuation routes are," said Zidek. "Perhaps take a look at their home emergency kits, refresh those ideas in that or look into building one of them.”
The test will be Wednesday March 25th at 10:15. Zidek asked that people go to ready.alaska.gov for take a short survey after the drill.