Several communities and organizations in Lincoln County recently received the NOAA TsunamiReady and StormReady recertification. NOAA’s National Weather Service programs are voluntary community preparedness programs to promote tsunami and weather readiness in a community with the primary goal of improving public safety. It uses a grassroots approach to help communities develop plans to handle local severe weather, wave impacts, flooding threats, and help communities inform citizens of threats associated with each hazard.
The following communities were recertified as TsunamiReady and StormReady in June of 2019:
•Lincoln County (county designation)
•City of Depoe Bay
•City of Newport
•City of Waldport
•City of Yachats
•City of Toledo
**City of Lincoln City received their recertification in March of 2017
The following organizations were recertified as TsunamiReady Supporters in June of 2019:
•Lincoln County School District
•Oregon State University Hatfield Marine Science Center
•North Lincoln Fire and Rescue District
•Depoe Bay Fire Protection District
•Seal Rock Fire Protection District
•Central Oregon Coast Fire District (Waldport)
•Yachats Rural Fire Protection District
The following organizations received new designation as TsunamiReady Supporter in June 2019:
Oregon Coast Community College
Background Information:
A community achieves this designation and recertification once they have an infrastructure in place to educate and inform residents of the threat of tsunamis and other hazardous weather, capability to receive and disseminate tsunami and severe weather warnings to the local populace, and a plan to deal with a tsunami or any weather related emergency.
To be recognized as TsunamiReady and StormReady, a community must:
• Establish a 24-hour warning point and emergency operations center
• Have more than one way to receive tsunami and severe weather warnings and forecasts to alert the public
• Create a system that monitors local weather conditions
• Promote the importance of public readiness through community seminars
• Develop a formal hazardous weather and tsunami plan, which includes training severe weather spotters and holding emergency exercises.
Part of the TsunamiReady Program recertification is the identification of TsunamiReady Supporters. These local entities promote the principles and guidelines of the program into their tsunami safety and awareness plans. Entities may be eligible as a TsunamiReady Supporter based on the bylaws of the local NWS Advisory Board and the endorsement from local emergency management.
Communities that become StormReady(SR) and/or TsunamiReady(TS) are eligible for reduced rates in flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
Once a community is designated as StormReady or TsunamiReady they earn Community Rating System (CRS) points, which may be applied toward lowering NFIP flood insurance rates.
• Insurance deductions range from 5% to 45% depending on the number of CRS points a community earns.
• Communities that get a TR and SR designation earns 55 points (30 for TR and 25 points for SR).
• Communities can also earn additional points by doing outreach on flood hazards, educating community members, providingmaps, etc.
Links to additional information:
• Listing of TsunamiReady Communities: https://www.weather.gov/tsunamiready/communities
• Listing of StormReady Communities: https://www.weather.gov/stormready/communities
• TsunamiReady Program:https://www.weather.gov/tsunamiready/
• StormReady Program: https://www.weather.gov/stormready/
• Listing of Tsunami Supporters: https://www.weather.gov/stormready/supporters
• National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP): https://www.floodsmart.gov/