In Aftermath of Tsunami Alert, Cantwell Thanks First Responders & NOAA: “Those Warnings Were Made Possible Because Of The Incredible Work of NOAA Employees”
Tsunami warning comes on the heels of Cantwell’s letter to Trump calling for more NOAA investments in ocean data collection, emergency alert systems
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell thanked first responders and employees of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for tracking the risk of a tsunami following an 8.8 magnitude earthquake near Russia and immediately mobilizing alert systems to ensure people on the West Coast, in Hawaii, and in Alaska had the up-to-date information needed to stay safe.
“Those warnings were made possible because of the incredible work of NOAA employees [and] emergency responders. And to make sure that our coastal communities like the State of Washington, Hawaii, Alaska, California, and Oregon, and other impacted areas, were given warning safely in advance,” Sen. Cantwell said during a meeting of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, on which she serves as ranking member.
“We have this capability because of investments we’ve made in infrastructure. This includes the DART program -- the NOAA buoys positioned in the ocean to monitor for tsunamis in real time -- and the work of NOAA’s Center for Tsunami Research in Seattle working to improve the models to provide faster, more accurate weather warnings and information.”
Video of her remarks in the committee meeting is HERE; a transcript is HERE.
Last night’s tsunami warning came on the heels of a letter Sen. Cantwell sent to President Donald Trump last week outlining her five-point plan to bolster the United States’ weather readiness.
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CNN: Key senator makes bipartisan plea to Trump to invest in weather and early warning networks
Sen. Cantwell’s five recommendations for President Trump are:
- Modernize Weather Data Collection: The United States needs to collect and compile more data by land, air, space, and sea by modernizing our weather data infrastructure and other tools, including better radars, hurricane hunters, weather satellites, and ocean buoys.
- World Leading Analytics: We need to catch up with and surpass European weather forecasting capabilities, which will require more supercomputing and improvements in data analytics including assimilation.
- Cutting Edge Research: As our communities experience more frequent and extreme weather, now is the time to invest in additional cutting-edge basic and applied research.
- Modernizing Alert Systems: We must strengthen and expand weather emergency communication channels to keep the public informed and help first responders prepare and react to natural disasters.
- Advance Bipartisan Legislation: The bipartisan Weather Act Reauthorization Act of 2024 would strengthen weather research and forecasting and expand commercial data partnerships.
More details about each of Sen. Cantwell’s recommendations can be found HERE.
NOAA provides critical services to the nation including weather forecasts, extreme storm tracking and monitoring, tools to enable communities to adapt to sea level rise and climate change, supporting fisheries management, and conserving marine mammals and other protected species.
Last month, Sen. Cantwell joined renowned meteorologists from across the country for a virtual presser to sound the alarm on cuts at NOAA’s National Weather Service, and called on the Trump Administration to restore the agency to full capacity. In February, Sen. Cantwell voted against confirming Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, citing – among other issues – his “tepid support” for NOAA. She then sent a letter to Lutnick directly following his confirmation calling on him to exempt the NWS from the federal hiring freeze, and protect all NOAA workers from firings "that would jeopardize the safety of the American public."
Sen. Cantwell is a champion of NOAA and helped secure $3.3 billion in NOAA investments in the Inflation Reduction Act to help communities prepare for and adapt to climate change, boost science needed to understand changing weather and climate patterns, and invest in advanced computer technologies that are critical for extreme weather prediction and emergency response. Her Fire Ready Nation Act, bipartisan legislation to strengthen NOAA’s ability to help forecast, prevent, and fight wildfires, passed the Commerce committee unanimously earlier this year and now heads to the full Senate for consideration. In 2011, she secured Washington state’s first coastal Doppler radar in Grays Harbor County, enabling forecasters to better determine wind speed and rainfall of incoming storms.
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