• 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:[email protected]
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: