Bonamici reintroduces tsunami bill
U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici on Tuesday reintroduced the Tsunami Warning, Education, and Research Act.
The legislation would strengthen tsunami detection and warning systems, improve response and resiliency and better protect communities vulnerable to a tsunami.
“Many Oregonians, including students from Seaside High School in coastal Oregon, have told me that there won’t be enough time to make it to safety when there’s a tsunami,” Bonamici, D-Oregon, said in a release. “I applaud Seaside residents for passing a bond recently to rebuild schools on higher ground to reduce the dangers of tsunami, and state and local governments are working hard to prepare and educate the public.
“But the federal government can do more to help keep coastal communities safe through improved warning systems. This bill is one part of the solution. Preparing for tsunami is a life-or-death matter for residents of coastal Oregon and other coastal communities.”
In the 2015-16 session, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed a similar version of the bill, which did not pass the Senate.
Bonamici received sponsorship from 11 other representatives, including fellow Oregon Democrats Peter DeFazio and Earl Blumenauer; Republican Jaime Herrera Beutler from Washington state; and Washington state Democrats Denny Heck, Pramila Jayapal and Derek Kilmer.
The bill would improve the tsunami warning system’s forecasts of tsunami arrival and damage estimates and strengthen the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s hazard mitigation program through additional technical and financial assistance to communities. It would establish a working group to provide advice on tsunami science and technology, and support development of community-based outreach and education programs to bolster community readiness and resilience.
By: The Daily Astorian