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Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands

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Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands CNMI’S TSUNAMI PROGRAM- CHALLENGES AND SUCCESSES HOMELAND SECURITY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY CAPITOL HILL, SAIPAN, CNMI NATIONAL TSUNAMI HAZARD MITIGATION PROGRAM ANNUAL MEETING AT SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH AUGUST 19-23, 2019 UNIQUE ASPECTS OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS • US Commonwealth • Setting: 300,000 square miles and 13 islands (6 inhabited) • 550,000 tourists a year, primarily from China, Korea, Japan, Philippines: multi-lingual and multi-cultural • Numerous Hazards: Tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanoes, typhoons, monsoons, high surf and inundation, droughts, grass fires, sea level rise, potential pandemics, and occasional threats from North Korea • Negotiations with US Military as a major Marine training base on Tinian and Pagan; also has a major air firing range and military air combat training area • Limited US air services • 38 staff: Homeland Security Advisor/Special Assistant to the Governor, Emergency Operations Center Manager, 24-hour State Warning Point (10), External Affairs, Monitoring Program (2), Exercise and Training (5), Information Technology (3), Finance—procurement, travel, etc. (3), Communications (2), Response and Recovery (2), Logistics (2), Grants & Planning (3), Critical Infrastructure (2), Human Resource (2), Rota and Tinian Representatives (2), Marianas Regional Fusion Center Node (2) CNMI SETTING IN THE RING OF FIRE Saipan Guam Palau • Pagan last erupted 1981; occasional steam now • Anatahan’s last major eruption was April 2005 • Sarigan could be next • Several underwater volcanoes VOLCANO HAZARDS FOR THE CNMI Near Sarigan Underwater Sarigan Aerial View of Pagan Pagan KEY FACILITIES WFO Guam EOC Saipan Mayor’s Office TYPES OF OUTREACH • Tsunami Workshops (NDPTC) and Annual Workshops from Guam Weather Forecast Office (Chip) • Radio and TV interviews on tsunamis • Annual National Preparedness Month • Visits to schools • Displays at the Grand Finale • Annual visits to WFO Guam and Guam Office of Civil Defense • StormReady and TsunamiReady successful re- assessment on 6 August • SR-TR Committee Memberships: Guam WCM, HSEM Rep, Coastal, Environmental Quality, Northern Marianas College, Saipan Mayor, Public School System, Public Works CHALLENGES • On Saipan and Tinian: Category 5 Typhoon (Yutu) in 2018; On Saipan: Category 4 Typhoon (Soudelor) in 2015 • Category 2 Typhoons on Rota (Dolphin 2015, Mangkhut 2018) • Typhoon destroyed 60+ tsunami signs and posts • Typhoon blew down tower that NOAA Weather Radio was on; HSEM is allowing us to use its tower at no cost • All HSEM staff are victims and members of response, recovery, mitigation teams • Members also tasked for recovery and mitigation teams on Rota for Typhoons Dolphin and Mangkhut IMPACTS: Could not execute 2018 NTHMP Grant; Voluntarily withdrew from 2019 NTHMP Grant NTHMP GRANT AND OTHER TSUNAMI FUNDING • Saipan, Tinian and Rota • Signage • Tsunami Inundation mapping for Saipan, Rota, Tinian • Outreach and Brochure/Pinwheel/Playing Cards development • Vehicle-mounted Sirens (25) • Modeling for the Saipan Port (2018 grant) • Two Tsunami Awareness Workshops on each island • Preliminary work on the Tsunami Evacuation Maps • TsunamiReady until 2022 • Coastal Sirens planned for FY17/18 and beyond grants SOME MITIGATION AND EDUCATION INITIATIVES Playing Cards Pin Wheel MAPPING AND MODELING: HARBOR ASSESSMENT FOR NEOWAVE MODELING HSEM arranged for a 1.5-hour boat tour of the harbor area for Fai and Chip. ROTA TINIAN SAIPAN Questions? .
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