SENAT
Report n° 117 (2007-2008) by M. Roland COURTEAU, Senator (for the parliament office for the evaluation of scientific and technological choices) - Appendix to the minutes of the 7 December 2007 session
Disponible au format Acrobat (21 Moctets)
(3) A permanent prevention policy
The state of Hawaii is certainly the most advanced with regard to its tsunami-mitigation policy. During his visit to Hawaii, your rapporteur was able to observe the mobilization of various stakeholders involved in every level of civil protection in the case of a tsunami warning being issued. On the Big Island of Hawaii, the city of Hilo, which was particularly affected by the tsunamis of 1946, 1960 and 1975, has provided itself with a very complete warning system under the impetus of its mayor.
First of all, the warning plans are decided upon in advance: the evacuation maps have already been prepared and distributed to all public services. They are also included in the telephone directory. There is only one commander (the mayor) and each official's responsibilities are clearly defined.
Secondly, to ensure that all officials give out the same information, the messages to be emitted are prepared from preprinted, fill-in-the-blank style texts (officials fill in the date, hour and location of the earthquake, the expected date of the tsunami's arrival, and the deadline for evacuating at-risk zones).
For a rapid dissemination of the information, an agreement was passed with the radio stations, by which they agree to interrupt their programmes in order to read the warning messages transmitted by the civil protection officials.
In addition, a network of sirens has been installed, in order to alert the population in the event of a tsunami warning.
Also, under the authority of the mayor, the lessons learned from past tsunamis have been incorporated into the city's urban planning: following the tsunami of 1946, a large section of the inundated zone was converted into a park. Following the tsunami of 1960, the buffer zone was enlarged and the debris were used to build a natural barrier separating the coastline from the interior. In addition, the building of hospitals, schools and retirement homes was prohibited in those zones prone to inundation, while those buildings located on the seashore are subject to strict safety standards (the buildings must be capable of resisting a tsunami, no ground-floor bedrooms).
Finally, in memory of the devastating tsunami of 1 April 1946, the month of April is used to raise public awareness of the tsunami risk. A training exercise simulating the arrival of a tsunami is carried out throughout the entire state of Hawaii, with the participation of PTWC, state officials, the departments of education and transportation, the harbour authorities and hotel associations. Evacuation drills are also carried out in certain schools located in at-risk zones.
Everyone your rapporteur spoke with insisted on the need to form close, long-lasting ties with the media, in order to both avoid the diffusion of incomplete or erroneous information and to raise public awareness of this phenomenon and how to behave in the event of a tsunami.