PORT ANGELES — The tsunami warning earlier this week provided an opportunity to test Clallam County’s ability to respond in the event of a real seismic-induced wave, emergency response representatives said at a meeting Thursday.
A tsunami warning was issued Tuesday night after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Crescent City, Calif. It was canceled a couple of hours later when a large wave failed to materialize.
Some warning systems in place failed to notify people in low-lying areas vulnerable to a violent surge from the ocean.
But the incident gave first-responders and support agencies in Clallam County an idea of what needs to be done next time, said county Emergency Management Director Joe Ciarlo.
More education needed
Some of the short-term goals would be to educate people how to respond to tsunami warnings and watches.
A warning is the most serious of the two.
“It means get out” and to go to higher ground, Ciarlo said.
Another goal is to install more signs warning residents and tourists when they are in areas vulnerable to tsunamis and to mark evacuation routes, he said.
More than 20 police and fire chiefs, representatives from Olympic National Park, local media and others from Clallam County were on hand at the emergency preparedness meeting to tour the county’s new Incident Response Vehicle.
But they took time to analyze the response to the tsunami warning.
Impromptu system worked
Participants said the impromptu system used to alert people on Tuesday was not the best, but they did not know a better alternative.
Lt. Tricia Hutson from Clallam County Fire District No. 5 used the old-fashioned way to notify residents in Clallam Bay and Sekiu that a tsunami warning had been issued — going door to door.
“It’s not an effective way,” Hutson said. “But what the fix is I don’t know.”