Tsunami-warning zones adjusted and Red Cross seeks volunteers; OEM briefs committee

Amanda Loach, director of the Office of Emergency Management, introduced two outside presenters to answer committee questions about tsunamis and volunteer engagement.

Bridget Vibota, the American Red Cross community disaster program manager for Anchorage, told the committee the Red Cross helps prepare, respond and recover from disasters statewide, installs smoke alarms through a national Home Fire Campaign and relies heavily on volunteers. Vibota said the Red Cross in Alaska receives about two disaster-notification calls per day and noted invitations for the public to assist at an Oct. 11 smoke-alarm-install event.

Dave Snyder of the National Tsunami Warning Center described changes to alert breakpoints and zone boundaries aimed at reducing unnecessary wireless emergency alerts to Anchorage for relatively small, nearshore earthquakes. Snyder said the NTWC—s existing systems are optimized for large, ocean-crossing tsunamis and that current tools tend to over-alert in some Alaska events; he explained the center adjusted zone boundaries to lower the chance of cascading alerts that reach Anchorage cell towers for low-magnitude, nearshore events.

"We're in an exciting time within the tsunami warning system," Snyder said. He stressed that the change shifts some alerting risk eastward to reduce over-alerting for a frequent Sand Point-type event, but that future technology is needed to target alerts more accurately for inland waters such as Cook Inlet.

The OEM and visitors answered committee questions about how the public will be informed and about partnerships supporting local sheltering, and the Red Cross reiterated volunteer and donation avenues for constituents who want to help.