Behind the scenes with the LVH CERT Team:
Last night there was a Tsunami warning that splashed across the TV screens. There had been an 8.3 earthquake in the Kiril Islands. The warning indicated a degree of uncertainty if there had been a tsunami generated. Earthquakes over 7.9 can cause tsunami's. The team knows this.
First to find the notice was Marlene Crites who got a phone call from a friend in Yachats. The friend was concerned enough that she visited the fire station across the street to confirm the report. Confirmed she called Marlene. A warning means that there is a possibility of a tsunami. You have to wait then for pressure sensors in the ocean to confirm that there was actually a tsunami generated.
During the wait Marlene started the calling tree to alert the CERT team. As she passed on the warning she told everyone to Meet on CH5 on our FRS radios. Once everyone was assembled and those that had scanners were deployed information started trickling in. Those with NOAA radios listened for an announcement from NOAA which came about every 15 minutes and basically said a tsunami was not projected for the Northwest but for the Japanese Islands of 3 ft.
We agreed to leave our radios on as developments may have changed. Nothing further developed so we went back to our normal state of readiness after a couple of hours.
What you can do when a tsunami alert is displayed on your TV... You can tune to CH 5 on your FRS radio and listen for all the detailed alerts that we have access to. Listen to the team as it ramps up to mobilize or follow the decision making process.
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