March 11th 2011 Japan/Hawaii Tsunami Response and Early Warning using PDC's DisasterAWARE

John Livengood
Lara Payne
Pacific Disaster Center, Kihei, HI

Disaster Management and Emergency Response I
Monday March 5, 2012 - 10:45 am to noon

On March 11th 2011 a magnitude 9.0 earthquake, one of the 5 most powerful in the world, triggered a destructive tsunami along the coast Japan, propagating across the Pacific from Alaska to Chile. Approximate wave heights ranged from 5-14 meters in Japan with some reports significantly higher in Iwate Prefecture, Hawaii was inundated by 1-3 meter waves.　 This presentation will look at how the Pacific Disaster Center's DisasterAWARE platform was utilized to support early warning, evacuations, and the on-going response to the disaster in both Japan and Hawaii. DisasterAWARE, PDC's web-based decision support system, continually listens to data sources for hazard warnings around the world, providing real-time, multi-hazard monitoring, risk, and exposure estimates. The platform then disseminates warnings through the use of the internet, social media tools, and smart phones to ensure the public and disaster management professionals are informed of the hazards and potential impacts.