First U.S. Tsunami Shelter Planned as Earthquake Looms

[beast]

 
When a major earthquake triggers a giant tsunami in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, as experts predict, one coastal town will be ready.

Residents of the small Oregon town of Cannon Beach are preparing to build the first tsunami-resistant shelter in the U.S. (Get tsunami facts.)

The updated design of city hall, which would double the building's cost from U.S. $2 million to $4 million, reflects a new focus on disaster preparedness in the Pacific Northwest, experts said this week at a meeting of the Geological Society of America in Portland, Oregon.

The Pacific Northwest is one of the most dangerous earthquake and tsunami zones in the world—capable of producing magnitude 9 earthquakes followed within minutes by deadly, 50-foot (15.2-meter) high waves.

The next big earthquake could happen tomorrow or in several hundreds of years—no one knows for sure.


Source: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/pf/57654617.html

[Anonymous]

well there is money available for such projects and this town has a good leadership and believes in preparedness-- it is right on the water so it has to be prepped


the administration we currently have is a bit more into preparedness, let's not have anymore katrina's

stimulus money should go into local improvement projects and other people based projects 

bailout the people.... get some jobs creation going!

[beast]

wish they could say the same for American Samoa

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Tsunami sirens are in place on the mainland United States, Alaska and Hawaii to warn of approaching wave surges. American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States, and most of the territory's villages and communities are near the coastline.

 

"Sirens have proven themselves, time and time again, to be invaluable tools for short term warning of tornadoes, tsunamis, flash floods and wild fires," said Mike Smith, CEO of WeatherData, a AccuWeather.com company and private weather service in Wichita, Kan. that specializes in warnings of extreme weather. "Academic studies have shown the public appreciates the added safety sirens provide."

 

Smith added that the approximate cost of protecting the populated areas of American Samoa would be around $100,000.

 

"In the United States, a comparable warning for tornadoes 15 minutes in advance activates the sirens, which gives people plenty of time to seek safety," said AccuWeather.com Expert Senior Meteorologist Henry Margusity.

Source: http://www.transworldnews.com/NewsStory.aspx?id=126831&cat=20
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and then there is this:

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There are allegations that United States funding for a disaster warning system in American Samoa was spent on flat screen televisions and leather chairs.

Last month 34 people died when a massive tsunami hit Samoa and neighbouring islands.

American watchdog group Common Cause has called for an inquiry following the claim which was aired on the CNN television network.

A former director of the territory's Homeland Security office says millions of dollars in grants were awarded in 2007 to prepare for a disaster, including building an island-wide siren warning system.

But the funding was frozen after the American Samoa government was found to be using it for other purposes.

An audit found that of $US2.3 million given to American Samoa in homeland security grants, $1.7 million was determined to be ineligible, unallowable or unsupported.


Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/10/29/2727642.htm?section=world