Officials, experts grapple with how to improve tsunami warning issues in July

Officials, experts grapple with how to improve tsunami warning issues in July

The United States faced a tsunami scare in late July after one of the strongest earthquakes on record struck off Russia’s coast, prompting warnings across Hawaii and coastal areas. Public agencies took immediate action to alert the public, but evacuation efforts in Hawaii were challenged by traffic gridlock and confusion, raising concerns over whether current systems can handle a large-scale disaster and prompting discussion on how to reinforce …

State working to improve tsunami reaction protocol

Deficiencies in managing the tsunami threat to Hawaii last month are leading to planned improvements that include manual traffic intersection management, fewer broken warning sirens and safety information websites that don’t crash under high demand. There also should be better public messaging from emergency management officials as to what the public should and should not do under a regular or extreme tsunami warning. Planned improvements were s…