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• U.S. Department of State

Summary

Recently, some in Congress have become concerned about the possible vulnerability of U.S. coastal areas to tsunamis, and about the adequacy of early warning for coastal areas of the western Atlantic Ocean. Those concerns stem from the December 26, 2004, tsunami that devastated many coastal areas around the northern Indian Ocean, where few tsunami early warning systems currently operate. Caused by a strong underwater earthquake off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, the tsunami disaster is estimated to have claimed as many as 300,000 lives. Affected nations, assisted by others, are pursuing a multilateral effort through the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) to develop an international tsunami detection and warning network that would guard coastal populations in the greater region of the Indian Ocean. Those efforts would coincide with the United States' effort to upgrade and expand its tsunami detection and warning network. <p> Some developed countries bounding the Indian Ocean region already have operating tsunami warnings systems. However, in some areas of these and neighboring countries an emergency management infrastructure to receive tsunami warnings is lacking, which leaves local officials incapable of rapidly alerting the public to evacuate or to take other safety precautions. Many disaster management experts assert that an emergency management infrastructure includes not just tsunami warnings, but also educating indigenous people and visitors about the potential dangers in the area; clearly communicating evacuation options; and adapting to potential risks by constructing public shelters, conducting periodic evacuation drills, and producing tsunami inundation maps guiding future land-use planning. <p> Some Members of Congress and the Bush Administration have proposed a tsunami warning network for the U.S. Atlantic seaboard. The Administration's plan proposes to spend $37.5 million to expand from six existing deepwater tsunami detection buoys to a total of 32 for the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean Sea by the end of 2007. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which operates the program, estimates initial procurement costs would be around $24 million, not including out-year funding for operations and maintenance. Legislation introduced in the 109th Congress would authorize funding to procure, deploy, and maintain a comprehensive U.S. tsunami early warning network for the next six years. Like the Administration, some lawmakers consider an upgraded U.S. system the best means to contribute to a global warning network. <p> A global warning network could cost millions of dollars for instrumentation and maintenance, but some suggest the benefits would far outweigh the costs. Others question whether the risks of tsunamis outside the Pacific Basin justify the investment. To leverage costs, international science agencies have suggested a global tsunami early warning network could be built upon ocean data collection systems, marine weather buoys, tide gage networks, state- and local-run coastal and ocean observation networks, and global telecommunications networks. A warning network would be most useful in countries like the United States that have expansive national emergency management capability. This report will be updated as warranted.

Related Legislation:
• S.300

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