April is Tsunami Awareness Month in Hawaii

By Wendy Osher

Image courtesy, NOAA.

April is Tsunami Awareness Month in the State of Hawaii.  The recent Honshu (Tohoku) Earthquake and Tsunami on March 11, 2011, highlights the importance of awareness of this year-round threat.

The Governor will present a Tsunami Awareness Month proclamation at an event today at Jefferson Elementary School, which was recently added to the tsunami evacuation zone.

The NOAA’s National Weather Service in Hawai‛i is also raising public awareness throughout the month.  The NOAA campaign sheds light on the 159 lives lost in the April 1, 1946 tsunami, the most destructive in Hawai’i’s history.

In support of Tsunami Awareness Month, NOAA is unveiling its new mobile phone web application. This app is based on the popular Hawai‛i Tsunami Information Service, an online resource for tsunami information for the State of Hawai‛i.  The service was used by more than 110,000 people during the recent tsunami warning on March 11, 2011.  This resource contains an interactive tsunami evacuation zone map that is searchable by address and includes additional tsunami preparedness and evacuation information. The service is applicable statewide and can be accessed by visiting http://tsunami.csc.noaa.gov.

NOAA also will sponsor display booths and keiki activities at several public events to help families prepare for tsunamis.   Those in attendance will learn the natural warning signs of a Tsunami, what to do if a warning is issued, and how to form a family emergency plan.  Events include:

• April 1, 10-11:30 a.m.: Hawai‘i Tsunami Awareness Month Kick Off – Jefferson Elementary School, 324 Kapahulu Avenue, Honolulu, Hawai‛i, 96815. State Civil Defense will present tsunami awareness month proclamation. Dr. Gerard Fryer and Manny Mattos will give tsunami awareness presentation to Jefferson Elementary students.
• April 9, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.: 4th Annual Mauka to Makai Earth Day – Waikiki Aquarium NOAA offices will sponsor displays and provide preparedness materials.
• April 16, 9 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.: YMCA Healthy Kids Day at the Bishop Museum. NOAA offices will sponsor displays and provide preparedness materials.
• April 22, 9 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.: Moloka‘i Earth Day Celebration at the Mitchell Pauole Community Center, 90 Ainoa Street, Kaunakakai. NOAA offices will host a booth and provide preparedness information.