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Marin emergency office details countywide response to Dec. 5 near‑source tsunami warning
Summary
Marin County emergency management described a rapid, countywide alerting effort after a Dec. 5 offshore earthquake prompted a near‑source tsunami warning. Officials said Alert Marin and a federal Wireless Emergency Alert were both used, and an after‑action report will recommend faster, more localized messaging.
Stephen Torrance, director of emergency management for Marin County, told the Belvedere Tiburon Joint Disaster Advisory Council on Jan. 28 that the county activated a “MAX” tsunami response and used federal and local alerting systems after an offshore earthquake near Humboldt triggered a near‑source tsunami warning on Dec. 5.
Torrance said the National Weather Service and the National Tsunami Warning Center sent a Wireless Emergency Alert to devices countywide within minutes of the earthquake, and Marin County followed with Alert Marin messages and a countywide partner briefing to provide localized information and Spanish translations.
The county’s duty officer received the initial federal notification at about 10:51 a.m., Torrance said, and most phones reportedly received the first Wireless Emergency Alert between about 10:50 and 10:55 a.m. Torrance said the county sent a localized Alert Marin message directing people to an emergency.marincounty.org map at approximately 11:19 a.m. He described the…
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