Tsunami warning alerts civilians, servicemembers

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Brad Sprague
  • 35th Fighter Wing public affairs
MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan --  The destructive force of tsunamis has been well-documented. In December 2004, a tsunami struck Indonesia, and its effects are still being felt today. One of the keys to minimizing its effects to those in its path is advance notification.

Notifying personnel of a potential tsunami here is now a combined effort. Misawa Air Base and Misawa City are working together to ensure everyone, civilians and servicemembers, on base or downtown, are notified so they can take the appropriate action.

"The first step is when the tsunami warning is issued; the Misawa City fire department has a tsunami warning checklist," said Chief Master Sgt. Troy Edwards, 35th Civil Engineer squadron base fire chief. "When they (Misawa City) have completed the checklist they fax it to our dispatch center which runs their internal tsunami checklist."

According to Chief Edwards, the notification process is very quick. "When the fax is received, the first step is to contact the command post so they can put out the information on the base public address system, commander's access channel, and American Forces Network radio and television. That's the process we have for base personnel," the chief said. "At that time, the wing commander could also generate a recall."

Chief Edwards said at the same time personnel are being notified on base, Misawa City will make an announcement through their public address system downtown.

"It will be a series of three tones, and then they'll say 'tsunami, tsunami, tsunami,' and they will explain the warning or caution in Japanese. At the end (of the warning) they will say 'tsunami caution' or 'tsunami warning' in English." The chief said the message will be repeated multiple times until the warning or caution is over.

The difference between a caution and warning is the expected wave size. "When a caution is issued, you're looking at a one to two meter wave at the low-lying areas," said the chief. "When a warning is issued you're looking at a three meter (wave) or above."

Chief Edwards explained the significance of notifying people on and off base, in English and Japanese; "not only will servicemembers downtown be notified, but so will local citizens, contractors and DoD civilians who might not be part of that recall roster system. We also have people that may be downtown at the beaches ... the area of concern."

According to the chief, public address systems are also located at the beaches to notify anyone in the area. "There is a PA system down there, and they (servicemembers) will be able to hear that 'tsunami, tsunami, tsunami' in English," he said.

Chief Edwards said tsunami preparation includes being aware of the notification process, and taking appropriate action when the warning goes out--"people hearing the warning should evacuate the beaches immediately."