Wednesday marked the annual test of the Alaskan alert system for tsunamis. Radio and television stations on Alaska’s coast in Alaska’s Gulf of Alaska were expected to broadcast an emergency warning – like what you would experience during a real tsunami.
However, some communities didn’t receive it at all such as Homer, Kodiak, Unalaska, Sitka, Ketchikan and Kenai.
Dave Snider, with the U.S. Tsunami Warning Center in Palmer states that a mix of technical problems, and some miscommunication, had prevented this test from reaching these areas. Forecasters in Anchorage did not get the information on.
“I believe it was because they were unsure of the kind of tests they were being run,” Snider said.
A word of caution
The tsunami warning test on Wednesday is an annual exercise. Every year, it takes place in March with the aim of improving how tsunami warning alerts are distributed to the public.
However, when forecasters from the NWS Office in Anchorage received the test signal, they were unable to turn on the region-wide Emergency Alert System. The message was not able to reach radio stations such as KBBI from Homer, KMXT in Kodiak or KUCB in Unalaska.
Tsunami warnings across the state follow a lengthy sequence of communications. When forecasters from the Tsunami Warning Center activate an alert, it’s sent to NOAA offices such as that of the National Weather Service stations in Anchorage and Juneau. This is the first stage.
If they’re conducting regular monthly tests, that’s when the chain comes to an end.
The span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”But this test was created to be more thorough than the typical monthly communications tests,” Snider said. “And in this instance it’s not a problem, it’s just a matter of being more precise about the kind of tests we’re conducting. .”
The warning on Wednesday was a unique type of test that Tsunami Warning Center Tsunami Warning Center attempts to recreate a tsunami by launching into the second stage which is that of the Emergency Alert System, which informs the public via television and radio broadcasts. This is the part that did not happen for stations that depend upon their NWS Office in Anchorage.
In the case of conducting tests for tsunami alerts and warnings Alaska the team appears to be somewhat out of the loop and could have contributed to the lack of communication. This annual exam has had to be abandoned in the past when actual tsunami dangers were afoot, such as the eruption of a volcano near Tonga in the year before and an earthquake that struck the Gulf of Alaska in January 2018.
Snider also stated that he believes that previous mistakes have caused some trepidation in the issue of warnings to test subjects. For example, in the year 2018, in an incident, a routine test was initiated an Emergency Alert System through mistake.
“span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”I believe there’s a carefully placed hesitation during the tests.” Snider said. “Out out of a sense of security and in the truth you’ve seen the past instances with fake alarms.”
Difficulties in decoding
The test of Wednesday also revealed technical issues. Radio stations that received the test message, however their systems could not understand the message.
The Emergency Alert System relies on “live codes,” a form of automated communication in which coded messages can be decoded by broadcasting radio and TV systems. Certain radio stations, such as KDLL at Kenai, KCAW in Sitka and KRBD in Ketchikan were able to receive Live codes received by NWS during Juneau. However, their systems weren’t able to read the message and it was not broadcast.
Snider states that the source of the issue was in it was simply an experiment.
The span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”In an ordinary situation with no hesitation and everything would have gone through the front door.” the man said. “I believe that this would have been the case. .”
The problem is to balance the necessity for testing and the need to maintain an urgency sense in the event of real alerts. If false alarms occur too frequently it’s possible that the public may cease to take tsunami warnings seriously.
However, Snider believes that the mistakes from Wednesday’s events will provide useful feedback to strengthen the system of warnings.
The span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”The positive thing is that tests aren’t just for fun they’re designed to correct issues before the actual event occurs,” Snider said.
Communities that had problems with Wednesday’s test are encouraged to submit their feedback at www.ready.alaska.gov.
