Following the earthquake in Russia, tsunami warnings were issued throughout the Pacific to Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, islands in Micronesia, Japan and Hawaii.
The Journal would like to thank our radio hosts on Wave 105 and Power 98 for swiftly and continuously sharing messages as they reached the stations.
Journal Staff saw numerous tourists in Tumon along Pale San Vitores — the island’s “hotel row” — as word of potential tsunami waves spread through Guam and immediately reached out to the Guam Hotel & Restaurant Association.
As it turned out, GHRA acted swiftly, its president told the paper. Visitors to Guam were advised to stay away from beaches and low-lying areas, said Mary Rhodes, president of GHRA. She said the information was shared as it was received from Guam Homeland Security.
“We provided information to hotels, tour agents, and individuals,” Rhodes said. GHRA representatives joined a briefing the morning of July 30, along with the Department of Parks and Recreation, Visitor Safety Officers, the Guam Police Department, and other agencies and organizations.
Rhodes said that once Guam’s alert was upgraded from a watch to an advisory, people on beaches were told to leave the water and move inland. Advisories and flyers were also distributed in multiple languages.
The news was shared among chat groups also.
It is a fact of life that after decades of typhoons affecting the islands — particularly the Marianas chain — our residents immediately know the difference between COR 3, COR 2 and COR 1. Condition of Readiness is not a term that needs to be explained to them.
However, there was a lot of confusion among the public as to the difference between a Tsunami “watch” and a Tsunami “advisory.” Neither term has a sense of urgency.
It may be time for the Government of Guam and in particular for the Office of Civil Defense and Homeland Security to either launch an education campaign or discuss exactly how any future tsunami message should be delivered.
Right now, Condition of Readiness seems to be a term that has application beyond typhoons. Or we might label a watch the equivalent of COR 3 and an advisory the equivalent of COR 2.
But words clearly matter. mbj
The Journal would like to thank our radio hosts on Wave 105 and Power 98 for swiftly and continuously sharing messages as they reached the stations.
Journal Staff saw numerous tourists in Tumon along Pale San Vitores — the island’s “hotel row” — as word of potential tsunami waves spread through Guam and immediately reached out to the Guam Hotel & Restaurant Association.
As it turned out, GHRA acted swiftly, its president told the paper. Visitors to Guam were advised to stay away from beaches and low-lying areas, said Mary Rhodes, president of GHRA. She said the information was shared as it was received from Guam Homeland Security.
“We provided information to hotels, tour agents, and individuals,” Rhodes said. GHRA representatives joined a briefing the morning of July 30, along with the Department of Parks and Recreation, Visitor Safety Officers, the Guam Police Department, and other agencies and organizations.
Rhodes said that once Guam’s alert was upgraded from a watch to an advisory, people on beaches were told to leave the water and move inland. Advisories and flyers were also distributed in multiple languages.
The news was shared among chat groups also.
It is a fact of life that after decades of typhoons affecting the islands — particularly the Marianas chain — our residents immediately know the difference between COR 3, COR 2 and COR 1. Condition of Readiness is not a term that needs to be explained to them.
However, there was a lot of confusion among the public as to the difference between a Tsunami “watch” and a Tsunami “advisory.” Neither term has a sense of urgency.
It may be time for the Government of Guam and in particular for the Office of Civil Defense and Homeland Security to either launch an education campaign or discuss exactly how any future tsunami message should be delivered.
Right now, Condition of Readiness seems to be a term that has application beyond typhoons. Or we might label a watch the equivalent of COR 3 and an advisory the equivalent of COR 2.
But words clearly matter. mbj
