Tsunami Preparedness Week: Are You Ready, Seal Beach?

SEAL BEACH, CA — It is a real danger for those along the California coastline. Tsunamis, a series of waves or surges most commonly caused by an earthquake beneath the sea floor, can put oceanfront communities at risk. In Seal Beach, National Tsunami Preparedness Week is getting city wide attention.

National Tsunami Preparedness Week takes place March 26th through March 31st.

"The City of Seal Beach in cooperation with the State of California, Office of Emergency Services (Cal-OES) and the Orange County Emergency Management Division will be taking an active role in promoting public education and awareness about tsunami preparedness," Seal Beach Police Department Corporal Dave Barr said.

To be recognized as a Tsunami Ready Community, a national certification issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Weather Service (NWS) there are a variety of criteria that must be met according to Barr.

Tsunami Ready:

Seal Beach also takes part in local emergency notification systems, including ALERTOC and NIXLE.

"AlertOC is a mass notification system used by the City of Seal Beach and Seal Beach Police Department to issue government related messages to residents and businesses," Barr said. "All residential and commercial landline phone numbers are a part of the AlertOC system. AlertOC replaced the old “Reverse 911” system."

In the event of a tsunami alert or warning, residents would receive reverse 911 calls.

Residents can register additional cell phone numbers, text numbers and e-mail addresses at AlertOC.com.

"Additionally, the City of Seal Beach uses the NIXLE communications system to send non-emergency messages," Barr said.

You can receive alerts from the City of Seal Beach by texting the zip code “90740” to “888777”.

Doing this will enroll you in the NIXLE system and you will receive alerts and messages.

Go to http://www.nixle.com/ for more information.

On-Line Resources that are available for residents include:

• The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Tsunami Website
• Tsunami Education for Kids
• California Geological Survey - Tsunami Web Site
• http://myhazards.calema.ca.gov
• http://www.tsunami.ca.gov

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