NOAA’S NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RECOGNIZES CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C.,
AS TSUNAMIREADY AND STORMREADY

Officials from NOAA's National Weather Service praised the emergency management team of Charleston, S.C., for completing a set of rigorous warning and evacuation criteria necessary to earn the distinction of being TsunamiReady and StormReady.

“Through the StormReady program, Charleston County will be better prepared to help protect the lives and property of its residents and visitors during severe weather events,” said Brig. Gen. David L. Johnson, U.S. Air Force, (Ret.), director of NOAA’s National Weather Service. “Charleston County should take great pride in having gone the extra mile to provide its residents and visitors with the added measure of protection that the TsunamiReady program affords.”

Paul Yura, warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Charleston, presented a recognition letter and special TsunamiReady and StormReady signs to Charleston County emergency management. The TsunamiReady and StormReady recognition will be in effect for three years, after which Charleston County will go through a renewal process.

“Through StormReady and TsunamiReady, Charleston County will be better prepared to help protect the lives and property of its citizens and visitors during severe weather events, as well as for the rare, but potentially devastating, consequences of a tsunami,” said Yura.

Both community preparedness programs use a grassroots approach to help communities develop plans to handle tsunamis, local severe weather, wave impacts, and flooding threats, and help communities inform citizens of threats associated with each. These programs are voluntary, and provide communities with clear-cut advice through a partnership between the local National Weather Service offices and state, county and local emergency managers. StormReady started in 1999 and has grown to more than 1,100 StormReady communities throughout the United States and there are more than 30 TsunamiReady communities in seven states.

To be recognized as TsunamiReady and StormReady, a community must:

“TsunamiReady and StormReady recognize communities that take a proactive approach to improving public awareness and local response to hazardous situations,” said Michael Emlaw, meteorologist-in-charge of the Charleston weather office. “Thanks to the efforts of our various partners, Charleston County has the means to help protect the public from tsunamis and severe weather threats and we have furthered our agency’s mission to protect lives and property.”

In 2007, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, celebrates 200 years of science and service to the nation. From the establishment of the Survey of the Coast in 1807 by Thomas Jefferson to the formation of the Weather Bureau and the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries in the 1870s, much of America's scientific heritage is rooted in NOAA.

NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and information service delivery for transportation, and by providing environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine resources. Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners, more than 60 countries and the European Commission to develop a global monitoring network that is as integrated as the planet it observes, predicts and protects.

On the Web:

NOAA: http://www.noaa.gov

NOAA’s National Weather Service: http://www.nws.noaa.gov

NOAA’s NWS Charleston, S.C.: http://www.erh.noaa.gov/chs/

TsunamiReady program: http://www.tsunamiready.noaa.gov

StormReady program: http://www.stormready.noaa.gov

StormReady® and TsunamiReady® are registered trademarks of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.