Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
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Household planning guidelines:
The Washington State Emergency Management
Department (WEMD) has published
How the Smart Family Survived a Tsunami,
which
discusses tsunami education and preparedness for households in tsunami-prone
areas.
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Paraphernalia:
The NTHMP has supported the development of tsunami education
products, such as a heat-sensitive coffee mug, pens, bookmarks, family disaster cards,
hazard zone decals, tent cards, trivia cards, videos, and posters. The NTHMP members
can order products from a catalog, and several states disseminate products at com-
munity fairs and workshops. These products serve to disseminate common tsunami
images or messages among NTHMP members.
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Signage:
Although signage along roadsides or in public places is primarily for identi-
fying tsunami hazard zones and evacuation routes, they may have other educational
beneits, such as generating media attention, providing a physical cue to motivate
individuals to learn more about tsunamis, injecting tsunamis into hazard mitigation
discussions, and disseminating consistent messages across jurisdictions.
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TsuInfo
Newsletter:
The Washington Division of Geology and Earth Resources
produces
TsuInfo,
a bimonthly newsletter with more than 350 subscribers, to provide
current tsunami and research information to local emergency managers, local oficials,
and others involved in tsunami mitigation efforts.
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Videos:
Several states have developed tsunami-related videos, including “Run to High
Ground” (Washington), “Cascadia,” “The Forgotten Danger” (Puerto Rico), and “Tsunami!
Surviving the Killer Wave,” which can be found in schools and libraries. The Paciic
Tsunami Museum worked with others to produce and broadcast three tsunami-safety
Public Service Announcements statewide in 2006.
ACTIVE EDUCATION DESIGNED FOR AT-RISK POPULATIONS
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Community workshops and town hall meetings:
Local emergency managers and
state/federal oficials organize community workshops and town hall meetings to dis-
cuss tsunami hazards, societal vulnerability to these threats, individual and household
preparedness, and tsunami warning and evacuation procedures. Local newspapers
and other media often advertise these forums and in many cases carry them live over
local TV and radio. Workshops provide the public with the opportunity to interact and
discuss tsunami topics with scientists, emergency managers, and local oficials. Work-
shops tailored for speciic groups (e.g., elected oficials, businesses, state agencies, and
tribes) can be designed to address educational and preparedness issues speciic to
their needs. A community-speciic tsunami education workshop was held in Tokeland,
Washington, in 2008 to address informational needs of a tribe and small unincorpo-
rated town. The workshop provided participants with tsunami information speciic to
their community and led to a review of the community's level of preparedness.
