• Police 911• Fire&Rescue 488-1411• EmergencyRoom 488-2558•Ambulance 488-1411•NEMO 587-6366/6367•MarineLaw 488-5206• PalauRedCross 488-5780/5781•NationalWeatherService 488-1034/6287

Tsunami Facts

IN CASE OF EARTHQUAKE,GO TO HIGH GROUND OR

INLAND

Knowledge Is Safety!

• Tsunamisthatstrikecoastallocationsarealmostalwayscausedbyearthquakes.Theearthquakesmightoccurfarawayornearwhereyoulive.Whileearthquakesoccurinalloceanbasinsaroundtheworld,mostdonotgeneratetsunamis.• Sometsunamiscanbeverylarge.Incoastalareastheirheightcanbeasgreatas33ft.ormore(90ft.inextremecases),andtheycanmoveinlandseveralhundredfeet.• Alllowlyingcoastalareascanbestruckbytsunamis.• Atsunamiconsistsofaseriesofwaveswithcrestsarrivingevery10to60minutes.Oftenthefirstwavemaynotbethelargest.Thedangerfromatsunamicanlastforseveralhoursafterthearrivalofthefirstwave.Tsunamiwavestypicallydonotcurlandbreak,soDONOTtrytosurfatsunami.• Tsunamiscanmovefasterthanapersoncanrun.• Atsunamiinitiallycausesthewaternearshoretorecede,exposingtheoceanfloor.• Theforceofsometsunamisisenormous.Largerocksweighingseveraltons,alongwithboatsandotherdebris,canbemovedinlandhundredsoffeetbytsunamiwaveactivity,andhomesandbuildingsdestroyed.Allthismaterialandwatermovewithgreatforce,andcankillorinjurepeople.• Tsunamiscanoccuratanytime,dayornight.• Tsunamiscantravelupriversandstreamsfromtheocean.• Tsunamiseasilywraparoundislandsandcanbejustasdangerousoncoastsnotfacingthesourceofthetsunami.

Emergency Phone Numbers

National Emergency Management OfficeOffice of the Vice PresidentRepublic of Palau 96940Tel: (680) 587-6366/67Fax: (680) 587-6368Email:palaunemo@gmail.com

Talk with family & friends about TSUNAMI safety.

This could save your life and theirs….

SHAKE…DROP…ROAR...RUN!

Be Prepared!

Know the warning signs

TSUNAMI

•Dependingonthelocationoftheearthquake,lead-timebeforeatsunamistrikesmaybelongerorshorter.IfanearthquakeoccurswithinonehundredmilesradiusfromPalau,warningtimemaybewithinminutes.•Anearthquakewithamagnitudeof6.7ormoregenerallyproducesatsunami.However,notallearthquakesgeneratetsunami.Volcanicactivities,submarinelandslidescancausetsunamis.•Onlylowlyingislandsandcoastalareasarevulnerabletotsunamis.Peoplelivingonhighergroundsarenotvulnerable.•Tsunamiscantravelupto500to600milesperhour,slowingdownwhenreachingshallowwaters.

Becausethereisnotimetogiveanofficialwarningduringlocalearthquakes,peoplemustmaketheirowndecisions.Thatiswhyitisimportantthateachpersoninyourschool,villageorhamletknowsthewarningsignsandknowswhattodo.Sohowmuchleadtimeandwarningdoyouhavebeforeageneratedtsunamistrikes?Thatsimplydependsonwherethetsunamiwasgenerated.Ifithasbeengeneratedlocallybyalocalquakeorsubmarineslide,thetsunamicanpushonshoreinminutesorlessleavinglittletimeto“escapeorevacuate.”Ifyouareatacoastandfeelalargequake,ALWAYSrunawayfromwatersedgeasquicklyaspossible.Seekhighgroundandhighwellbuiltstructuresimmediately.

Atsunamiisaseriesoflargewavesthatarecausedbyamajordisturbanceoftheseafloor.Thedisturbancecanbeastrongandshallowearthquake,asubmarinelandslide,orasubmarinevolcaniceruption.MostTsunamisareearthquakegeneratedwithaspeedgreaterthan500mphindeepwaterandaheightonlyafewinchesindeepwater.MostdamagescausedbyTsunamisisnearthesource.TsunamiistheJapanesewordforharborwave.

TSUNAMI WARNING PROCEDURES:

What is a Tsunami? IMPORTANT FACTS:

PEOPLE MUST MAKE THEIR OWN WARNING

IF YOU NOTICE ANY OF THE WARNING SIGNS1.Runtoasafeplace2.Donotwaittobetold.3.Donotwaituntilyouseethewavebecauseitwillbetoolate.Thewavetravelsasfastasaspeedingcar.

HOW TO SAVE YOUR LIFE!•Youaresafefromthewaveifyouaremorethan800feetfromthewater’sedge,orareonhighground.•MostTSUNAMIwavesare3to6feethighLesscommonlythe9to12feethighandrarely30to60feethigh•Ifyoucannotrunawaytoasafeplace,climbatree.Probablyyouwillbesafe.•Waitatthesafeplaceforseveralhours.

IF YOU ARE ON A SHIP OR BOAT. Ifyouareatsea,DONOTreturntothecoastuntilthewaveshaveceased.Youaresafeifyoustayoutintheopensea.Ifthereisnotimetotaketheshipatawharforjettyouttosea,leavetheshipandruntoasafeplace.

IF YOU ARE CAUGHT BY A TSUNAMI WAVE.1.Swimasstronglyasyoucan!2.Findsomethingthatfloatsandhangontoit!

IF YOU BECOME AWARE OF ANY OF THE WARNING SIGNS.•Runtoasafeplace,immediately!•Iftrappedonlowgroundnearthesea,climbatree;youmaybesafe.•Stayatthesafeareaforseveralhours.Remembermorewavesmaycome.•DONOTstayinacarnearthesea.Thewavecancarrythecaralong,likeanotherpieceofdebris.PREPARE ESCAPE PATHS AND SAFE AREAS

Communitiesandschoolsonthecoastshouldplanandpreparefortsunamis.Locateasafearea,andprepareescapepathssothatpeoplecanreachthesafearea.Thesafeareashouldbeonhighground,oraheightofa6-storeybuilding.

THE WARNINGS OF A TSUNAMI ARE:1.Anearthquake2.Anyunusualchangeinsealevel(commonlythesealeveldropsbeforetheTSUNAMIwavearrives)3.Aroaringnoise

ThefollowingstepsistheTsunamiWarningResponseProceduresfortheNEMOOfficeandhowtheydisseminateinformationtothepublicinregardstoanearthquakeandapossiblethreatofaTsunami.

Step 1.Informationisreceivedaboutanearthquakeandapossibilityofatsunami.Thepossiblesourceofinformationisfrom:A.NationalWeatherServiceinKoror,PalauB.PacificTsunamiWarningCenterinHawai’iC.Othersources:ITICorJMAStep 2.NEMOverifyinformation.Step 3.NEMOinformtheNationalEmergencyCommittee(NEC)Chairmantorelayinformation.NECChairmanthenadvisestheROPPresidentandwillfurtheractivatetheEmergencyOperationCenterifthereisathreattoPalau.Step 4.NEMOwillthencontactmostvulnerablestates/locationsclosesttocoastalareas.Step 5.NEMOcontactallSchools/Hotelslocatedonthecoastareas.If Tsunami occurs during daytime, NEMO will notify the Ministry of Education and all private schools located on the coastline.Step6.ThePublicInformationOfficerfromthePresident’sOfficewillissueanofficialwarningtoRadioStations,specificallyT8AARadio[EchoParadise].Thisparticularradiostationisgovernment-ownedandismandatedtodisseminateemergencyannouncementsfromNEMOandEOCduringtimesofemergencies.

NationalWeatherServiceRepublicofPalau96940Tel.(680)488-1034/6287

Fax:(680)488-1436Email:

Maria.Ngemaes@noaa.gov