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Expedited Tsunami Warning Alerts Along the Us West Coast Using Earthquake Early Warning Tools

Description: 

Tsunamis cause significant damage and loss of life, particularly for communities closest to the source, where the tsunami may arrive in a matter of minutes. These near field communities often do not receive an informed or timely alert under traditional warning pathways. In response, numerous tsunami early warning (TEW) algorithms have been developed with the goal of providing informed tsunami source characterization within minutes for use in localized warning. However, an overlooked aspect of TEW is the mechanism that this crucial information is received by individuals. Current operations focus heavily on the time an alert is issued from a warning center. Before that warning is conveyed to affected communities, it first travels a serpentine path through state and local contact points, which can create further delays, reducing the timeliness of alerts. In this presentation, we provide the framework and advocate for the use of rapid dissemination tools prevalent in earthquake early warning (EEW) systems to provide timely, clear, and consistent alerts to the public. We illustrate the need for rapid alerting strategies through the analysis of multiple prospective tsunamigenic earthquakes rupturing on the west coast of the United States in the Cascadia subduction zone.

Session: The Future of Tsunami Science, Preparedness and Response [Poster]

Type: Poster

Date: 4/19/2023

Presentation Time: 08:00 AM (local time)

Presenting Author: Amy L. Williamson

Student Presenter: No

Invited Presentation: 

Authors