Hawaii Volcanoes Designated TsunamiReady, StormReady

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park has been designated as being “StormReady/TsunamiReady” by the National Weather Service.

The variety of day visitors as well as campers and backpackers attracted to Hawaii Volcanoes’ broad coastal areas and Mauna Loa wilderness present a challenge to emergency managers, park officials said.

“Our emergency plan is quite unique and challenging because the park encompasses a landscape that ranges from 32 miles of coastline, to the slopes and summit of Mauna Loa at 13,677 feet,” said Chief Ranger Talmadge Magno.

The park’s safety plan includes identifying and marking tsunami inundation zones and revising literature in coastal area shelters. For mauka areas, road and trail closure systems were designed based on the weather service’s forecast models.

According to the NWS, roughly 90% of all presidential disaster declarations are related to storms, and the StormReady program started in 1999 helps community leaders and emergency managers prepare local safety programs.

The TsunamiReady program, which was initiated in 2001, helps establish planning, education and community awareness about the threat from the seismic-generated waves.

Visit http://www.nps.gov/havo/planyourvisit/weather.htm for information about the park’s current weather conditions. For more information about the National Weather Service’s TsunamiReady and StormReady programs, visit www.stormready.noaa.gov.