New Tsunami Evacuation App for Pacific States

Residents, emergency managers and tourists in Washington and Oregon have a new tool to help with tsunami preparedness. TsunamiEvac-NW is a new smartphone app that shows users:

• Evacuation zones where they live, work, or go to school;
• Helps people plan evacuation routes; and
• Maps important locations, buildings, and landmarks nearby.

The website and app both report active warnings and watches, provide information tsunami on signs, and explain evacuation and sheltering best practices. There are also printable community brochures available that:

• Map the local coastline;
• Explain the difference between distant and local tsunamis; and
• Provide instructions on what to do and what not to do, among other useful features.

It also displays the locations of fire departments, hospitals, tsunami warning sirens and assembly areas for evacuation. Users may switch between different views (road, satellite, terrain, etc.) and use the app’s tools to develop their own family emergency plan and kit.

This app is available for both iPhone and Android users for free. Download it today!

Source: FEMA

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Alaska Shield 2014

Release date: MARCH 20, 2014
FEMA Release Number: 14-2

A large earthquake in Alaska, especially in winter, would require a different type of response than most areas of the nation. FEMA Region X is participating in a series of exercises that will test the ability of the federal government to respond to major disasters in Alaska.

The largest of the exercises is Alaska Shield 2014. This full-scale emergency response exercise, occurring in late March of 2014 that will test the plans and actions of the State of Alaska, FEMA, territorial governments, private sector companies, international partners, non-governmental organizations, and academic institutions and its partners.

“We do not know when the next earthquake or tsunami will take place, but it will depend on our collective and individual preparedness to reduce our vulnerability.” said FEMA Regional Administrator Ken Murphy. “It is imperative that we work together in advance of an event to make sure that all of our systems are working together smoothly and seamlessly”.

This exercise will coincide with 50th anniversary commemoration events of the 1964 Great Alaskan Earthquake. The earthquake scenario is designed to be of sufficient complexity to disrupt the States essential services, making it difficult for communities to obtain outside assistance but allow life safety activities to resume.

A Full-Scale Exercise tests plans and actions during the initial response phase of a disaster. It also tests the ability to stabilize the situation and meet immediate essential needs during a major disruptive event, as well as ensure recovery efforts can begin.

For more information about the exercise follow #AKShield, @AlaskaDHSEM and @FEMARegion10 on Twitter.