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Politics & Government

Local Officials Weigh in on Report of Possible Tsunami Preparedness Funding Cuts

Reaction to news that White House seeks to cut NOAA's program funding tsunami warning and preparedness.

Close to one year ago, a tsunami triggered by the Japanese earthquake in March 2011 and the North American west coast which prompted a voluntary call for the evacuation of thousands of low-lying local residents.

But a budget released earlier this month by the White House proposes to cut the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association's emergency public outreach and other programs for the West Coast and Alaska starting in fiscal year 2013, according to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).

The proposed cuts total $4.6 million, according to a recent report from the San Jose Mercury News.

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Tsunami warnings in Half Moon Bay will not be affected by the budget cuts, according to Lt. Lisa Williams, head of the Half Moon Bay substation of the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office.

According to the San Mateo County Office of Emergency Services, Coastside sirens are not funded by NOAA and will continue to be operational, Williams said on Wednesday when referring to an inquiry by Bay Area television station KRON.

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"They were further advised that we had already produced tsunami-related public information materials and were going to continue our participation in the 'storm ready' and 'tsunami ready' program," Williams said on Wednesday.

According to PEER and the San Jose Mercury News, NOAA's buoy system which monitors tsunamis — comprised of 39 stations across the Pacific, Atlantic, Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico — is one of the main casualties of the budget cuts. More than one in four (10 out of 39) of these stations in the Deep Ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis (DART) network are currently inoperative, according to PEER.

$1 million is slated to be cut from this buoy system alone, according to the San Jose Mercury News.

The other main casualty, according to PEER, is the Tsunami Warning and Environmental Observatory for Alaska, which monitors tsunami-generating earthquakes, among other responsibilities.

“Our tsunami warning system is one of the last things NOAA should contemplate cutting,” said PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch in a press release. “This is like a homeowner economizing by disconnecting the smoke alarm.” 

Other cuts include nearly half the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program which includes funds dedicated towards developing tsunami warning systems, educating the public on local evacuation routes and computer modeling showing which coastal towns are most at risk for tsunamis, according to the San Jose Mercury News.

While some scientists say that the proposed cuts are risky, NOAA officials don't agree, saying that the cuts will not compromise public safety, the San Jose Mercury News reported.

According to PEER, the proposed budget cuts are being made despite a $150 million proposed increase in funding to the agency for fiscal year 2013.  

The tsunami program cuts had not been mentioned in public briefings detailing NOAA's budget for the next fiscal year, PEER noted.

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