Redwood Tsunami Group Honored For Innovation

Tri-county interagency effort lauded for disaster mitigation efforts

Humboldt Sentinel
1/8/09
By Paul Mann

ARCATA -- The Redwood Coast Tsunami Work Group, a tri-county interagency body that includes Humboldt State University and advances mitigation of coastal earthquake and tsunami hazards, has received an award for excellence in innovation from a regional earthquake consortium headquartered in Sacramento.

Lauded by the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services for introducing “live code” tsunami testing in Humboldt County in March of last year, the Redwood Coast Tsunami Group will be honored by the Western States Seismic Policy Council at its annual conference in February in Salt Lake City.

Dr. Lori Dengler, chair of HSU’s Department of Geology and Director of the University’s Earthquake Education Center, will attend the conference and accept the award on behalf of the group, which represents Humboldt, Del Norte and Mendocino Counties. Formed in 1996, its membership is drawn from local, state and federal agencies as well as relief organizations, coastal land managers and businesses. The current chairs are Troy Nicolini of the National Weather Service in Eureka and Vicki Ozaki of Redwood National Park.

“Humboldt State has played a major role in the creation, maintenance and projects of the Redwood Coast Tsunami Work Group, but its success is as an ad hoc interagency organization,” Dengler said.

James Goltz, Earthquake and Tsunami Program Manager in the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, said the Humboldt County test in March was of great importance because it exercised the last link in the tsunami warning system. “The test was a complete success and virtually our entire approach was vetted through the Redwood Coast Tsunami Work Group. We plan to continue ‘live code’ tests in 2009 and incorporate two additional counties, Del Norte and Mendocino, in addition to Humboldt,” he said. The Redwood group will continue as the main vehicle for the tests in conjunction with the Emergency Alert System, which is activated using the same code and resulting messages that would be used in a real earthquake or tsunami.

Goltz also praised the Redwood organization for its educational materials, including “Living on Shaky Ground,” tsunami inundation maps, county fair exhibits and preparedness workshops.

The Western States Seismic Policy Council promotes initiatives to reduce earthquake losses, in partnership with emergency management, geological surveys and seismic council and commissions at the state level. A non-profit organization, it comprises geologists and emergency managers from 13 states, three U.S. territories, a Canadian province and a Canadian territory. They include California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, Alaska and Yukon.

The seismic council typically honors five to eight outstanding mitigation programs or projects each year, Dengler said, and the Redwood Coast Tsunami Work Group was nominated for the innovation award by HSU alum and former Humboldt County Third District Supervisor John Woolley (’67, ’68).