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Current Threat Condition Risk of Terrorist Attacks |
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Tsunamis do not have a season
and do not occur regularly or frequently. The largest Tsunamis,
however, can cause destruction and casualties over a wide area, sometimes as wide as the entire Pacific Basin. Pacific-wide Tsunamis may happen only a few times each Century. Yet they pose a major threat to the coastal populations of the Pacific and other World Oceans and Seas. Nothing can be done to prevent them, but the adverse impact on the loss of life and property can be reduced with proper warning and advance planning. A Tsunami is a series of ocean waves generated by any rapid large-scale disturbance of the sea water. Most Tsunamis are generated by earthquakes, but they may also be caused by volcanic eruptions, landslides, undersea slumps, meteor impacts, asteroids, or the breaking off of a large section of Ice Shelves at the Polar regions. Tsunamis are also referred to as "tidal waves," but they have no relation to tides. Ships at sea cannot detect a passing Tsunami, nor can the waves be seen from aircraft. While passing through deep oceans, a Tsunami consists of a series of waves that are only a few feet high and a hundred miles or more apart. The waves radiate outward in all directions from the disturbance and can propagate across entire ocean basins. Tsunami waves are distinguished from ordinary ocean waves by their great length between peaks, often exceeding 100 miles in the deep ocean, and by the long amount of time between these peaks, ranging from five minutes to an hour. The speed at which Tsunamis travel depends on the ocean depth. A Tsunami can exceed 500 mph in the deep ocean but slows to 20 or 30 mph in the shallow water near land. In less than 24 hours, a Tsunami can cross the entire Pacific Ocean. In the deep ocean, a Tsunami is barely noticeable and will only cause a small and slow rising and falling of the sea surface as it passes. Only as it approaches land does a Tsunami become a hazard. As the Tsunami approaches land and shallow water, the waves slow down and become compressed, causing them to grow in height. In the "best of cases" the Tsunami comes onshore like a quickly rising tide and causes a gentle flooding of low-lying coastal areas. In the "worst of cases" a "bore" will form. A bore is a wall of turbulent water that can be several meters high and can rush onshore with great destructive power. Behind the bore is a deep and fast-moving flood that can pick up and sweep away almost anything in its path. Minutes later, the water will drain away as the trough of the Tsunami wave arrives, sometimes exposing great patches of the sea floor. But then the water will rush in again as before, causing additional damage. This destructive cycle may repeat many times before the hazard finally passes. Therefore, never assume the danger is over after the first, second, third, forth, etc., wave has passed. Persons caught in the path of a Tsunami have little chance to survive. They can be easily crushed by debris or they may simply drown. Children and the elderly are particularly at risk, as they have less mobility, strength, and endurance. Tsunamis typically cause the most severe damage and casualties very near their source. There the waves are highest because they have not yet lost much energy to friction or spreading. In addition, the nearby coastal population, often disoriented from the violent earthquake shaking, has little time to react before the Tsunami arrives. The effects of each new Tsunami, and the effects on different coasts of the same Tsunami, vary greatly. The size and destructiveness of the waves at any particular site are largely determined by the local topography, both onshore and offshore, and the direction from which the wave approaches. For these reasons, people should not become complacent just because one Tsunami warning ends with only a few inches rise in water level. The next time...a warning could precede a 55-foot wave. Locally generated Tsunamis are potentially the most hazardous type, because the time between their origin and the arrival of the wave at the shoreline may be too brief to warn and evacuate people. Any earthquake strong enough to cause difficulty in standing or walking should be regarded as a Tsunami warning by people in coastal areas, who should immediately head for higher ground. One of the indicators of a possible Tsunami is a drop in the level of water near a coastline, which is not related to the normal change in the daily tide levels. |
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In 1948, a Tsunami warning system
for the Pacific basin was developed by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic
Survey. The Pacific Tsunami Warning System, which has its headquarters in Honolulu Hawaii, is administered by the National Weather Service under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The Tsunami Warning Center provides warnings for Tsunamis to most Countries in the Pacific Basin. Presently, the Pacific Tsunami Warning System, which has its headquarters in Honolulu, is administered by the National Weather Service under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The Tsunami Warning Center receives a constant flow of information from seismometers (instruments that detect earthquakes) and tide-gauge stations all around the Pacific Ocean. When an earthquake with the potential to generate a Tsunami occurs, the Warning Center issues a "Tsunami Watch" within 30-40 minutes, alerting Civil Defense and other authorities of a possible Tsunami. The first positive evidence of a Tsunami comes from tide stations near the origin of the Tsunami. Once the presence of a wave is confirmed, the Hawaii Center issues a "Tsunami Warning" giving an estimated time of arrival for the first wave. Local authorities and emergency managers are responsible for formulating and executing evacuation plans for areas under a Tsunami Warning. The public should stay-tuned to the local media for evacuation orders should a Tsunami Warning be issued. And, the public should not return to low-lying areas until the Tsunami threat has passed and the "All Clear Message" is announced and/or broadcast by the local authorities. When a Country or Region may be threatened by Tsunamis, the hazard to life can be minimized by evacuating people to higher ground. The repeated evacuation of Residential areas near Coastlines comes at a high cost, however, both for the government, taxpayers and for the people whose property may be threatened by Tsunamis. For the long term, Tsunami hazards can be avoided by "Land Use Zoning" which restricts building construction in the areas of greatest Tsunami threat. |
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| NOAA International Tsunami Information Center...Current Bulletins | http://www.prh.noaa.gov/ptwc/ |
| NOAA National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration - Tsunamis | http://www.tsunami.noaa.gov/ |
| NOAA Pacific Tsunami Warning Center | http://www.prh.noaa.gov/ptwc/ |
| NOAA National Geophysical Data Center | http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/seg/hazard/tsu.shtml |
| NOAA PMEL Tsunami Reseach Program | http://nctr.pmel.noaa.gov/ |
| NOAA PMEL Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory | http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/tsunami-hazard |
| NOAA PMEL Tsunami Events and Data | http://nctr.pmel.noaa.gov/database_devel.html |
| International Tsunami Information Centre...About Tsunamis | http://ioc3.unesco.org/itic/categories.php?category_no=4 |
| NOAA West Coast & Alaska Tsunami Warning Center | http://wcatwc.arh.noaa.gov/ |
| NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory...Tsunami Detection Buoy System | http://nctr.pmel.noaa.gov/Dart/ |
| NOAA Pacific Tsunami Warning Center...Frequently Asked Questions | http://www.prh.noaa.gov/ptwc/faq.php |
| NOAA ITIC International Tsunami Information Center | http://ioc3.unesco.org/itic/ |
| NOAA NGDC National Geophysical Data Center NGDC...Tsunami Database | http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/nndc/struts/form?t=101650&s=70&d=7 |
| FEMA Tsunamis | http://www.fema.gov/hazard/tsunami/index.shtm |
| FEMA Tsunami Terms | http://www.fema.gov/hazard/tsunami/ts_terms.shtm |
| FEMA Tsunami Information For Kids | http://www.fema.gov/kids/tsunami.htm |
| United States Agency for International Development...Tsunami | http://www.usaid.gov/locations/asia_near_east/tsunami/ |
| American Red Cross Disaster Center...Tsunami | http://www.redcross.org/services/disaster/0,1082,0_592_,00.html |
| West Coast & Alaska Tsunami Warning Center | http://wcatwc.arh.noaa.gov/events/eventmap.php |
| USGS U.S. Geological Survey Western Region | http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/tsunami |
| National Ice Center (NIC) Washington DC | http://www.natice.noaa.gov/ |
| UNESCO International Coordination Group...Pacific Tsunami Warning Syatem | http://ioc.unesco.org/itsu/ |
| Tsunami Warning Center Sakhalin Island Russia | http://www.science.sakhalin.ru/Tsunami/ |
| Novosibirsk Tsunami Laboratory (NTL) Database | http://tsun.sscc.ru/htdbpac/ |
| The United Kingdom Tsunami Risks Project | http://www.nerc-bas.ac.uk/tsunami-risks/ |
| Tsunami Detection in the Open Ocean (University of Colorado) | http://cires.colorado.edu/science/projects/aoms-godinO01.html |
| Tsunami! (University of Washington) | http://www.geophys.washington.edu/tsunami/welcome.html |
| Ultimate Guide To Tsunamis | http://www.insurancecompared.com.au/articles/tsunamis.cfm |
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| NGDC National Geophysical Data Center...Earthquake Data | http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/seg/hazard/earthqk.shtml |
| USGS U.S. Geological Survey Earthquake Hazards Program | http://earthquake.usgs.gov/ |
| USGS NEIC National Earthquake Information Center | http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/neic/ |
| USGS Earthquake Hazards Program | http://wwwneic.cr.usgs.gov/ |
| USGS Worldwide Recent Earthquake Activity | http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww/ |
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| NOAA NGDC National Geophysical Data Center Volcano Data | http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/seg/hazard/volcano.shtml |
| USGS CVO's List of On-Line Volcano Maps | http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Graphics/framework2.html#foreign_volcanoes |
| Hawaii Volcano Observatory | http://www.volcanolive.com/hvo.html |
| Smithsonian Institution GVP Global Volcanism Program | http://www.volcano.si.edu/ |
| Volcano Links from Volcano World | http://www.geology.sdsu.edu/how_volcanoes_work/volcano_links.html |
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| United States Better Business Bureau BBB...Guidance For Donors | http://www.give.org/ |
| Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development ACTED...in English. | http://www.acted.org/english |
| Action Against Hunger | http://www.actionagainsthunger.org |
| Actionaid International | http://www.actionaid.org/ |
| Action by Churches Together ACT | http://www.act-intl.org/ |
| Adventist Development and Relief Agency ADRA | http://www.adra.org/site/PageServer |
| African Medical and Research Foundation AMREF | http://www.amref.org/ |
| Air Serv International | http://www.airserv.org |
| AmeriCares Foundation | http://www.americares.org/ |
| American Council for Voiluntary International Action InterAction | http://www.interaction.org |
| American Friends Service Committee | http://www.afsc.org |
| American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee JDC | http://www.jdc.org |
| American Jewish World Service AJWS | http://www.ajws.org |
| American Radio Relay League ARRL | http://www.arrl.org/ |
| American Red Cross | http://www.redcross.org |
| American Red Cross Disaster Center...Disaster Updates | http://www.redcross.org/services/disaster/ |
| American Refugee Committee ARC | http://www.archq.org |
| American Rescue Team International ARTI | http://www.amerrescue.org/ |
| AmeriCares | http://www.americares.org/ |
| Amnesty International | http://www.amnesty.org/ |
| Ananda Marga Universal Relief Team AMURT | http://www.amurt.net |
| AusAID Commonwealth of Austalia | http://www.ausaid.gov.au/ |
| Baptist World Aid | http://www.bwanet.org/bwaid |
| B'nai B'rith International BBI | http://www.bnaibrith.org |
| Brother's Brother Foundation BBF | http://www.brothersbrother.org/ |
| CAFOD Catholic Agency for Overseas Development | http://www.cafod.org.uk/ |
| CARE Australia | http://www.careaustralia.org.au/ |
| CARE International | http://www.care.org |
| Caritas Internationalis | http://www.caritas.org/ |
| Carter Center, The | http://www.cartercenter.org/ |
| Catholic Charities USA | http://www.catholiccharitiesusa.org/ |
| Catholic Relief Services CRS | http://www.catholicrelief.org |
| Center for International Disaster Information | http://www.cidi.org |
| Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC | http://www.cdc.gov/ |
| Centers for Disease Control and Prevention...Travelers Health | http://www.cdc.gov/travel/ |
| Christian Aid United Kingdom | http://www.christian-aid.org.uk/ |
| Christian Children's Fund | http://www.christianchildrensfund.org/ |
| Christian Disaster Response | http://www.cdresponse.org/ |
| Christian Reformed World Relief Committee CWRC | http://www.crwrc.org/ |
| Chronicle of Philanthropy, The | http://philanthropy.com |
| Church World Service CWS | http://www.churchworldservice.org |
| Concern Worldwide USA | http://www.concernusa.org |
| Digital Globe...Press Room for News & Imagery | http://media.digitalglobe.com/ |
| Digital Globe...Unique Image Gallerys | http://www.digitalglobe.com/ |
| Direct Relief International | http://www.directrelief.org |
| Doctors Without Borders | http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/ |
| Episcopal Relief and Development | http://www.er-d.org |
| Feed The Children | http://www.feedthechildren.org/ |
| FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency | http://www.fema.gov |
| FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency - Tsunami Information | http://www.fema.gov/hazard/tsunami/index.shtm |
| Food For The Hungry | http://www.fh.org |
| Global Links | http://www.globallinks.org |
| Habitat for Humanity International | http://www.habitat.org |
| Hawaii State Civil Defense | http://www.scd.state.hi.us/index.html |
| Heart to Heart International | http://www.hearttoheart.org |
| Health Opportunities for People Everywhere HOPE | http://www.projhope.org/ |
| Helen Keller International | http://www.hki.org/ |
| Infectious Diseases Society of America IDSA | http://www.idsociety.org/ |
| International Aid | http://www.internationalaid.org |
| International Aid Services IAS | http://www.ias.nu/ |
| International Amateur Radio Union IRAU | http://www.iaru.org/ |
| International Coordination Group IGC...Pacific Warning System | http://ioc.unesco.org/itsu/ |
| International Medical Corps IMC | http://www.imcworldwide.org/ |
| International Medical Corps IMC - Indonesia | http://www.imcworldwide.org/loc_indonesia.shtml |
| International Charter...Space & Major Disasters | http://www.disasterscharter.org/new_e.html |
| International Committee of the Red Cross ICRC...in English. | http://www.icrc.org/eng |
| International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent IFRC | http://www.ifrc.org/ |
| International Institute of Seismology and Earthquake Enginnering IISEE | http://iisee.kenken.go.jp/ |
| International Medical Corps IMC | http://www.imcworldwide.org/ |
| International Network of Medecins du Monde...English selectable. | http://www.mdm-international.org/ |
| International Orthodox Christian Charities IOCC | http://www.iocc.org/ |
| International Relief & Development IRD | http://www.ird-dc.org |
| International Relief Teams IRT | http://www.irteams.org/ |
| International Rescue Committee IRC | http://www.theirc.org/ |
| Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) | http://ioc.unesco.org/iocweb/index.php |
| International Orthodox Christian Charities IOCC | http://www.iocc.org |
| International Tsunami Information Center ITIC | http://www.prh.noaa.gov/itic/ |
| Islamic Relief Worldwide | http://www.islamic-relief.com/ |
| Islamic Relief USA | http://www.irw.org/ |
| Israel Red Cross ARMDI | http://www.armdi.org/ |
| Latter-Day Saints Charities LDS | http://www.lds.org/humanitarian |
| Lutheran World Relief LWR | http://www.lwr.org |
| Medair International Humanitarian Organization...English selectable. | http://www.medair.org/ |
| Médecins Sans Frontières MSF...in English. | http://www.msf.org/ |
| Médecins du Monde...in French | http://www.medecinsdumonde.org/ |
| Medical Assistance Programs MAP International | http://www.map.org/ |
| Mennonite Disaster Service MDS | http://mds.mennonite.net/ |
| Mercy Corps | http://www.mercycorps.org |
| Mercy-USA for Aid and Development M-USA | http://www.mercyusa.org |
| Mission East...in English. | http://www.miseast.org/sw95.asp |
| Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC | http://www.cdc.gov/ |
| Centers for Disease Control and Prevention...Travelers Health | http://www.cdc.gov/travel/ |
| NASA's...Earth Observatory and Unique Imagery | http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/ |
| National Center for Biotechnology Information NCBI | http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ |
| National Emergency Response Team NERT | http://www.nert-usa.org/ |
| National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program NTHMP | http://nthmp.tsunami.gov/ |
| National Organization for Victim Assistance NOVA | http://www.trynova.org/ |
| Northwest Medical Teams International | http://www.nwmti.org/ |
| Norwegian People's Aid NPA...English selectable. | http://ips.idium.no/folkehjelp.no/ |
| Norwegian Refugee Council NRC...English selectable. | http://www.nrc.no/ |
| One World Network | http://www.oneworld.net/ |
| Operation USA OpUSA | http://www.opusa.org |
| Overseas Development Institute ODI | http://www.odi.org.uk/ |
| Oxfam America OXFAM | http://www.oxfamamerica.org |
| Pacific Disaster Center PDC | http://www.pdc.org |
| Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory PMEL...Tsumani Events & Data | http://pmel.noaa.gov/tsunami/database_devel.html |
| Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory PMEL...Tsumani Mitigation | http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/tsunami-hazard/ |
| Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory PMEL...Tsumani Research | http://pmel.noaa.gov/tsunami/ |
| Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory PMEL...Warning Guidance | http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/tsunami-hazard/warning.html |
| Pan American Health Organization PAHO | http://www.paho.org/ |
| Plan USA | http://www.planusa.org |
| Presbyterian Church USA Disaster Assistance PCUSA | http://www.pcusa.org/pda |
| Project Concern International PCI | http://www.projectconcern.org |
| Project HOPE | http://www.projecthope.org/ |
| Radio Emergency Association Communications Teams REACT | http://www.reactintl.org/ |
| Relief International RI | http://www.ri.org |
| ReliefWeb | http://www.reliefweb.int/ |
| Reuters Foundation Alert Net | http://www.alertnet.org/ |
| Russian Academy of Sciences Tsunami Laboratory...In English. | http://omzg.sscc.ru/tsulab/ |
| Search And Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking (SARSAT) | http://www.sarsat.noaa.gov/ |
| Seva Foundation | http://www.seva.org/ |
| Samaritan's Purse | http://www.samaritanspurse.org |
| Save the Children USA | http://www.savethechildren.org |
| Scientology Volunteer Ministers | http://www.volunteerministers.org/ |
| Secours Populaire Français SPF...in English. | http://www.secourspopulaire.asso.fr/English/index.html |
| Seventh-day Adventist Church | http://www.adventist.org/ |
| SOS-Kinderdorf International...in English. | http://www.sos-childrensvillages.org/ |
| SpaceRef Interactive Incorporated...Unique Images Indonesia | http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=14963 |
| Star of Hope International...English selectable. | http://www.starofhope.org/ |
| Stop Hunger Now | http://www.stophungernow.org |
| Tear Fund Christian Action | http://www.tearfund.org/ |
| Telecoms Sans Frontieres TSF...English selectable. | http://www.tsfi.org/ |
| The Salvation Army International | http://www.salvationarmy.org/ |
| The Salvation Army National Headquarters | http://www.salvationarmyusa.org/ |
| Trócaire...Agency of the Catholic Church In Ireland | http://www.trocaire.org/ |
| Tsunami Warning Tracker Blogger | http://tsunamiwarning.blogspot.com/ |
| UNOSAT...Satellite Images & Maps | http://unosat.web.cern.ch/unosat/asp/default.asp |
| United Jewish Communities North America | http://www.ujcna.org/ |
| United Methodist Committee on Relief UMCOR | http://gbgm-umc.org/umcor/ |
| United Nations Development Programme UNDP | http://www.undp.org/ |
| United Nations Food & Agriculture Organization FAO | http://www.fao.org/ |
| United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees UNHCR | http://www.unhcr.ch/ |
| United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund UNICEF | http://www.unicef.org/ |
| United Nations News Service UN News | http://www.un.org/News/ |
| United Nations News Service UN Daily News | http://www.un.org/News/dh/arc/archive.asp |
| United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs OCHA | http://ochaonline.un.org/ |
| United Nations World Food Programme WFP | http://www.wfp.org/ |
| United Nations World Health Organization WHO...in English. | http://www.who.int/en/ |
| United Nations World Meteorological Organization WMO...in English. | http://www.wmo.ch/index-en.html |
| United States Agency for International Development | http://www.usaid.gov |
| United States Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research CBER | http://www.fda.gov/cber/ |
| United States Fund For UNICEF | http://www.unicefusa.org/ |
| United States Small Business Administration SBA | http://www.sbaonline.sba.gov/disaster_recov/ |
| United Way of America UWA | http://www.unitedway.org/ |
| Volunteers In Technical Assistance VITA | http://www.vita.org/ |
| West Coast & Alaska Tsunami Warning Center WCATWC | http://wcatwc.arh.noaa.gov/ |
| West Coast & Alaska Tsunami Warning Center Mirror Site | http://wcatwc.gov |
| World Concern | http://www.worldconcern.org |
| World Disaster Alliance | http://www.disasteralliance.org/ |
| World Emergency Relief WER | http://www.worldemergencyrelief.org |
| World Hope International | http://www.worldhope.org |
| World Relief | http://www.worldrelief.org |
| World Vision | http://www.worldvision.org |
| World Vision International | http://www.wvi.org/ |
| ZOA Refugee Care Netherlands...English selectable. | http://www.zoaweb.org/ |
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