Coronado is Tsunami Ready — Are You?

As Coronado was recognized Wednesday as a TsunamiReady City by San Diego County’s ReadySanDiego.org emergency preparedness campaign, the City wants to remind its citizens during National Tsunami Awareness Week to be prepared.

Two years ago, Coronado became the 100th community in the United States to be designated TsunamiReady by the National Weather Service. The voluntary program helps cities develop plans to prepare and warn their communities about tsunami threats. The city also was recognized as “StormReady,” which signifies that the city is prepared in the event of severe weather.

“This is a great time to remind residents of the emergency management and preparedness measures that have been established in Coronado to assist the community in the unlikely but possible event of a tsunami,” said Coronado Fire Chief Mike Blood.

A tsunami is a series of waves of near or distant origin which results from large earthquakes, underwater landslides or volcanic eruptions. The first wave may not be the largest and damaging waves can hit the coast for hours.

The City’s TsunamiReady plan includes an inundation map showing the areas of the City that may become flooded in a worst-case scenario. Most likely a tsunami in Coronado would be no higher than 3 to 4 feet. The inundation map can be found in two tsunami brochures, one produced by the City in 2012 and one recently created by ReadySanDiego.org to coincide with National Tsunami Awareness Week. Copies of both are available at City Hall, 1825 Strand Way, Coronado.

The plan also lists emergency shelters, evacuation routes and traffic control measures. Signs have been posted at the beach. Coronado has two main systems for emergency notification:

• Telephone notifications are provided through the AlertSanDiego program. Calls are made to residents and businesses warning them of an emergency, such as an impending tsunami. AlertSanDiego uses the region's 911 database provided by local telephone companies and contacts both listed and unlisted lines. If you also want to register your cell phone, Voice over IP or email address, visit readysandiego.org/alertsandiego.
• Coronado has three sirens as part of its Emergency Siren System located throughout Coronado — one at the Main Fire Station on Sixth Street; one at Glorietta Bay Park; and one at the Cays Fire Station. If the sirens sound, residents should tune their radios to the local Emergency Alert System, AM 600 KOGO.

The City also may notify residents and businesses via emergency responders, and through the City’s website, Nixle, Facebook and Twitter accounts. Follow @CoronadoCity on Twitter, like the City of Coronado on Facebook and sign up for Nixle (ocal.nixle.com/register/) to receive real-time updates in the event of any emergency.

Emergency sheltering and evacuation are part of Coronado’s plan.

• The City has partnered with the Coronado Unified School District and the American Red Cross to provide an emergency shelter, if required. The shelter will be operated by the American Red Cross with help from the Coronado Community Emergency Response Team, or CERT.
• Most Coronado residents in at-risk areas likely will be directed to evacuate to higher ground in town, or “inward and upward.” This is accomplished by moving toward the center of the City of Coronado or to the second or higher floor of multistory structure. You also may be directed to “shelter in place” or to move to a designated shelter. Stay tuned to the local Emergency Alert System.

Fire Chief Blood advises citizens to know if you live, work or play in a Tsunami Hazard Zone. If you are in a Tsunami Hazard Zone, get one of the available brochures to learn more about your evacuation route or shelter area. If you are near the coast and evacuation is impossible, Blood said citizens are encouraged to go to a higher floor of a sturdy building.

For more information about tsunami preparedness, call the Fire Department at (619) 522-7374. To read or print out a copy of the City’s Tsunami Preparedness Guide or read more about emergency preparedness, visit the Emergency Preparedness page at coronado.ca.us. Go to Government, Public Safety and Fire Department.

—City of Coronado