Surprising They Weren't Relocated to New Orleans

NOAA Blocks Moving Pacific Tsunami Center above Sea Level
Warning Center May Be Unable to Function After First Wave Hits


WASHINGTON - June 12 - The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is vetoing an effort to move its Pacific Tsunami Warning Center to high ground that would enable it to function in the aftermath of a tsunami, according to documents released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). NOAA opposes plans to co-locate the tsunami warning center with Hawaiian state and local civil defense offices 300 feet above sea level on the high slopes of Diamond Head Crater and instead wants to put it in a new office building slated for construction on an island in the middle of Pearl Harbor.

NOAA is insisting that the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center be included within a new $242 million complex it plans to build on Ford Island, a U.S. Navy-owned site in Pearl Harbor on the south coast of Oahu. Hawaii, which has a history of tsunamis, is among the areas with the highest tsunami danger.

The Ford Island site is reachable only by a single, partly floating bridge that must be raised to allow the Navy vessels to escape the harbor. Ford Island would also have to be evacuated in the event of a tsunami, if NOAA followed its own protocols, but if the bridge is raised evacuation may not be possible. By contrast, the Diamond Head Crater location would be sufficiently elevated so as to continue to operate throughout any foreseeable tsunami-related event...