Washington State Requests Federal Funding for Tsunami Preparedness

Washington State Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz says the state needs more funding to prepare for the impacts of potential tsunamis, reports Erica Zucco for King 5. “For its part, the Washington Department of Natural Resources has been doing modeling and mapping to learn where tsunamis would be most impactful, where people should go to get to safety, and what structures or mechanisms could be put in place to save lives.”

In a letter to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Franz called for additional funding for Washington tsunami preparedness, saying, “We have utilized the money we've had in the past few years to map the areas with the highest population centers, like Ocean Shores, like Long Beach, but there's communities up and down the entire coastline that we haven't yet mapped just because we haven't had the resources and time.”

According to Zucco, “The Washington Military Department prepares tsunami education and collaborates with communities to get the word out and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) coordinates monitoring activities and runs several programs to promote safety.”