* A tsunami was generated by this event, but no longer
poses a threat.
* This will be the final U.S. National Tsunami Warning Center
message issued for this event.
I'm in danger of being "Warning-ed" out. Watches are different and will always get my attention. Especially after the recent overreaction to sending out way more flood warnings even when it is not any where near me is just getting me to not bother with them.
I know this is the danger the forecasters face. I can appreciate how they clearly stated the issue was now over in a very quick time though.
I grew up in coastal AK and I can't remember more than one time that we faced evacuation orders. We had weekly tests of our tsunami alarm system, but I only ever heard them operated in a non-test that one time. I still keep a close eye on it every time there is an earthquake in the area that triggers a warning because I have family there.
In the last few years there has been a significant uptick in the number of alerts that trigger sirens, orders to evacuate to higher ground, etc. Talking to people back home, it seems like they're "warning-ed out" as you say and are beginning to tune it out.
A 7.3 magnitude quake absolutely can trigger a tsunami big enough to threaten your life, so the NTWC is 100% doing the right thing. I also agree that they need to be careful about perception, and careful about stoking panic. A few years ago, a pedestrian in my home town was struck and killed by a car driving to higher ground during a tsunami warning. There wasn't any tsunami activity that day, but the pedestrian is still dead.
It's impossible to completely attribute the death to the state of alarm/evacuation, but it's not hard to see how a driver and a pedestrian in that situation might be less than completely attentive due to the loud sirens, increased traffic to unusual areas, etc.
@waEMD (Washington State Emergency Management) tweeted this a couple of hours ago:
We have now been told there is NO DANGER for Washington state from this earthquake in Alaska. Scientists had to wait to examine the wave heights arriving at DART tsunami buoys -- and those sensors now indicate there is NO DANGER for our coastline. #wawx
Yep, the 1964 earthquake that occurred in the area is to this day the most powerful earthquake recorded in North America and the second most powerful in the entire world. The region is insanely seismically active, even compared to the west coast of the continental US.
Glad I had the inkling to hoard gallons of fresh water and canned anchovies just this past week. I'm in Seattle btw, I remember this year we had a power outage the neighborhood people spent the entire week huddling around a fire in the culdesac.
And if the earthquake doesn't scare them, the volcano that triggers will. And if they're still not prepared, there's also the tsunami.
dylan604|7 months ago
* This will be the final U.S. National Tsunami Warning Center message issued for this event.
I'm in danger of being "Warning-ed" out. Watches are different and will always get my attention. Especially after the recent overreaction to sending out way more flood warnings even when it is not any where near me is just getting me to not bother with them.
I know this is the danger the forecasters face. I can appreciate how they clearly stated the issue was now over in a very quick time though.
porkloin|7 months ago
In the last few years there has been a significant uptick in the number of alerts that trigger sirens, orders to evacuate to higher ground, etc. Talking to people back home, it seems like they're "warning-ed out" as you say and are beginning to tune it out.
A 7.3 magnitude quake absolutely can trigger a tsunami big enough to threaten your life, so the NTWC is 100% doing the right thing. I also agree that they need to be careful about perception, and careful about stoking panic. A few years ago, a pedestrian in my home town was struck and killed by a car driving to higher ground during a tsunami warning. There wasn't any tsunami activity that day, but the pedestrian is still dead.
It's impossible to completely attribute the death to the state of alarm/evacuation, but it's not hard to see how a driver and a pedestrian in that situation might be less than completely attentive due to the loud sirens, increased traffic to unusual areas, etc.
chrbr|7 months ago
https://www.weather.gov/safety/tsunami-alerts
op00to|7 months ago
jasonthorsness|7 months ago
We have now been told there is NO DANGER for Washington state from this earthquake in Alaska. Scientists had to wait to examine the wave heights arriving at DART tsunami buoys -- and those sensors now indicate there is NO DANGER for our coastline. #wawx
olddustytrail|7 months ago
porkloin|7 months ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1964_Alaska_earthquake
Electricniko|7 months ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_of_Fire
nocsi|7 months ago
And if the earthquake doesn't scare them, the volcano that triggers will. And if they're still not prepared, there's also the tsunami.
lysace|7 months ago
Enough time (20-ish years) and government/junta chaos has passed for this question to be relevant.