Tsunami 101: What you need to know in Monterey County

Breathtaking views. Rocky cliffs. Beautiful beaches. Highway 1. Sunshine. Otters.

If you guessed that these are all things that you may find along Monterey County’s 99 miles of coastline, you’re right. But amidst the beauty of our coast lies something else - the potential to experience the effects of a tsunami - a “wave or series of waves generated by an earthquake, landslide, volcanic eruption, or even large meteor hitting the ocean.”  In fact, California has experienced over 80 observed or recorded tsunamis!

When people think of a tsunami, many expect to see a wave similar to a wind wave but much larger -  similar to the giant wind waves in Hawaii and Australia that have made those places world-class surfing destinations. But for most occurrences, including the 2011 tsunami which caused in excess of $20 million dollars of damage to the Moss Landing and Santa Cruz harbors, a tsunami looks more like turbulent water and is virtually undetectable to the eye until it has nearly reached the shore.

These waves are extremely powerful, capable of bringing large amounts of water inland very quickly and causing damage in areas that experience inundation.

Tsunami wave striking the upper Santa Cruz Harbor (Photo Credit: Unknown; via California Geological Survey)

How high is high ground? 

The good news is that for most local areas, safety and relief from any water and debris that can come ashore is close by - sometimes as little as just a few blocks away. By taking yourself to approximately 20 feet above sea level, the chances for danger are greatly reduced.

(For tsunami inundation maps, visit the CA Geological Survey Tsunami Inundation Maps page)

How will I know?

The National Tsunami Warning Center (NTWC) in Palmer, AK, is the primary warning center for the California coastline and issues four types of tsunami statements.  They include: information statement, watch, advisory, and warning.

As of January 2014, the National Weather Service has a system in place that allows messages to be sent through all wireless devices. These messages are known as Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) and will come automatically to your device(s) as long as the appropriate settings are enabled.

A single (one time) WEA message will be sent only when a Tsunami WARNING is issued and will read:

“Tsunami danger on the coast – go to high ground or move inland.  Listen to local news. NWS.”

For tsunami information that is more specific to you & Monterey County, or for other local notifications to residents and businesses in danger of or being impacted by emergency situations like evacuations, weather, power blackouts, law enforcement operations, toxic chemical spills, missing persons, etc.,  you must register online at the A!ert Monterey County website (alertmontereycounty.org).

The notifications that you receive, how you receive them (landline, cell, VoIP, or email) and what locations you are concerned with (home, work, school, etc.) are selected by you and will not be used for any other purposes.

It is important to remember that while catastrophic events are rare and cannot be prevented, we can all help to diminish adverse impacts through taking steps to prepare and by building a strong community.

For information, visit us ( www.co.monterey.ca.us/oes  ; Twitter @MontereyCoOES) and subscribe to our Latest News.

More on tsunamis can be found at the CA Geological Survey’s tsunami info sheet

Are you "in the zone"? Tsunami inundation information

What is inundation?
Water covering normally dry land is a condition known as inundation. In the event of a tsunami, there is potential for inundation among some of the coastal communities in Monterey County. 

 

Inundation maps for Monterey County can also be found at the California Geological Survey's page located at the following link:

http://www.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/geologic_hazards/Tsunami/Inundation_Maps/Monterey/Pages/Monterey.aspx

If you see this sign, you know you may be in an area that could become inundated. In the event of an earthquake or tsunami notification, move away from the coastline as quickly and safely as possible. 

It is important to remember that in the event of a tsunami, listen to guidance from official authorities, like your local police or fire departments.

Another way to stay informed about tsunami events and and their potential effects on Monterey County is to make sure that you are signed up to receive emergency alerts on your cell phone (through call, text message, or email). It's quick, easy, and gives you more options for getting important information.

Head on over to AlertMontereyCounty.org for more details.

Tsunami Preparedness Week, March 22-28

 California Governor Edmund G. Brown proclaims "Tsunami Preparedness Week" across the state



It's official! March 22nd through the 28th has been designated "Tsunami Preparedness Week" throughout the State.

Be sure to revisit the blog over the next few days, where we will be posting different tsunami related info.

You can also head to Twitter, where we (@MontereyCoOES) and the National Weather Service (@NWSBayArea) will have even more photos, videos and information to get you, your family and your community "TsunamiReady".

The Internet is fundamentally insecure. Protect yourself: "Cybersecurity 101", via PBS NOVA Labs

The Internet is fundamentally insecure. 

However, there are simple things you can do to protect yourself and your information. Learn what they are in NOVA’s Cybersecurity Lab.

Play the Cybersecurity Game: http://pbs.org/nova/labs

NOVA Labs Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theNOVALabs
NOVA Labs Twitter: https://twitter.com/theNOVALabs

CREDITS

Writer/Director/Producer 
Alex Rosenthal

Animator 
Nick Hilditch

Narrator
George Zaidan

Music
Scorekeepers Music Library

Freesound.org SFX
209583 oven mitt impact by Zott820
191766 bamboo whip sound effect by UnderlinedDesigns
147346 refrigerator door by fuzzpapi
235796 zombie groan by indieground
167155 typing by DSPena

Prescribed Burning - Los Padres National Forest (Mar 17,2015)

Los Padres National Forest
Burn Date:	3/17/2015
Name of Prescribed Burn Project:	Los Padres National Forest Administrative Site Pile Burning
Conducted by:	Los Padres National Forest
Purpose:	Wildland Vegetation Management
Smoke Management Permit #	445-2014
North Central Coast Air Sub-Basin:	INLAND
Location	Arroyo Seco Campground
Pile Burning	5 piles, approx 3 tons piled material
Type of Fuels:	Oak, Brush
Los Padres National Forest
Burn Date:	3/17/2015
Name of Prescribed Burn Project:	Los Padres National Forest Administrative Site Pile Burning
Conducted by:	Los Padres National Forest
Purpose:	Wildland Vegetation Management
Smoke Management Permit #	445-2014
North Central Coast Air Sub-Basin:	INLAND
Location	Escondido Campground, Del Venturi Road
Type of Burning	6 Piles, approx 2 tons vegetation
Type of Fuels:	Brush

Interoperable Solution from DHS Science & Technology Group Makes It Easier and Cheaper For First Responders to Communicate

A new low-cost interoperability solution developed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) could save the first responder community millions of dollars.

The Radio Internet-Protocol Communications Module (RIC-M), used by local, state and federal responders, is a low-cost, external, stand-alone, interface device that connects radio frequency (RF) system base stations, consoles and other RF equipment – regardless of brand – over the Internet or Private Internet Protocol (IP) network. The RIC-M converts from a commonly used V.24 serial communications protocol to an open-standard Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP).  Both encrypted and unencrypted Project 25 (P25) digital communications are supported, and it can also operate with analog communication equipment.

“In the past, legacy systems were not interoperable,” explained S&T First Responders Group (FRG) Program Manager Christine Lee. “If you bought one brand of base station, you had to buy the same brand for the all other components even if other brands offered more economical choices or better options. RIC-M allows first responder organizations to be free from dependence on expensive, single-vendor communication solutions, offering cost savings and wider variety.”

Base stations are used by law enforcement, medical and other agency dispatchers to communicate with first responders and agents in the field. Using the RIC-M, agencies can easily upgrade and reconfigure legacy systems for less than $500, Lee stressed.

“Instead of having to replace an entire system – which can cost as much as $15,000 – when one component breaks or becomes obsolete, organizations can use any RIC-M compatible product to extend the system’s life for another 10 to 20 years,” she said.

Since its conception in 2012, RIC-M has been successfully field tested with various state and federal response agencies including Montgomery County, Maryland; U.S. Customs and Border Protection; Federal Protective Service; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the U.S. Marshals Service; the Department of Justice and the Department of the Interior, Office of Law Enforcement and Security.

“The biggest benefit of the RIC-M is that it will allow agencies to continue to use current stock pile and installed legacy equipment,” said Carter Blumeyer of Rivada Port Graham Solutions, who participated in the fielding as an evaluator. “This legacy equipment is solidly built and still could last more than 10 years from now.”

The first of its kind, all new USGS California earthquake forecast study estimates chances of large earthquakes over next several decades

Content courtesy of USGS

March 10, 2015 - A new California earthquake forecast by the U.S. Geological Survey and partners revises scientific estimates for the chances of having large earthquakes over the next several decades.

The Third Uniform California Earthquake Rupture Forecast, or UCERF3, improves upon previous models by incorporating the latest data on the state’s complex system of active geological faults, as well as new methods for translating these data into earthquake likelihoods. 

The study confirms many previous findings, sheds new light on how the future earthquakes will likely be distributed across the state and estimates how big those earthquakes might be.

Compared to the previous assessment issued in 2008, UCERF2, the estimated rate of earthquakes around magnitude 6.7, the size of the destructive 1994 Northridge earthquake, has gone down by about 30 percent. The expected frequency of such events statewide has dropped from an average of one per 4.8 years to about one per 6.3 years.

However, in the new study, the estimate for the likelihood that California will experience a magnitude 8 or larger earthquake in the next 30 years has increased from about 4.7% for UCERF2 to about 7.0% for UCERF3.

“The new likelihoods are due to the inclusion of possible multi-fault ruptures, where earthquakes are no longer confined to separate, individual faults, but can occasionally rupture multiple faults simultaneously,” said lead author and USGS scientist Ned Field. “This is a significant advancement in terms of representing a broader range of earthquakes throughout California’s complex fault system.”

Two kinds of scientific models are used to inform decisions of how to safeguard against earthquake losses: an Earthquake Rupture Forecast, which indicates where and when the Earth might slip along the state’s many faults, and a Ground Motion Prediction model, which estimates the ground shaking given one of the fault ruptures. The UCERF3 model is of the first kind, and is the latest earthquake-rupture forecast for California. It was developed and reviewed by dozens of leading scientific experts from the fields of seismology, geology, geodesy, paleoseismology, earthquake physics and earthquake engineering.

The USGS partner organizations that contributed to this product include the Southern California Earthquake Center, the California Geological Survey and the California Earthquake Authority.

“We are fortunate that seismic activity in California has been relatively low over the past century. But we know that tectonic forces are continually tightening the springs of the San Andreas fault system, making big quakes inevitable,” said Tom Jordan, Director of the Southern California Earthquake Center and a co-author of the study. “The UCERF3 model provides our leaders and the public with improved information about what to expect, so that we can better prepare.”

El Niño "Watch" upgraded to "Advisory"; Not necessarily a drought buster

Effective Thursday, March 5th, the NOAA Climate Prediction Center (CPC) upgraded their previous El Niño "Watch" to an "Advisory".

Simply put, this means the atmosphere has coupled with the warm ocean waters of the Pacific and has met criteria for an El Niño event to be declared. This particular El Niño event formed very late and is weak in strength.

A quick El Niño refresher (via CPC) - 

What Is El Niño?

El Niño refers to conditions when the sea's surface in an area along the equator in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean gets warmer than usual. The average water temperature in that area is typically just 1-3°C (about 2-5°F) warmer than normal, but it has the effect of adding huge amounts of heat and moisture to the atmosphere, ultimately affecting patterns of air pressure and rainfall across the Pacific and beyond.

La Niña is the climatological counterpart to El Niño-a yin to its yang, so to speak. La Niña refers to periods when sea-surface temperatures in the equatorial central and eastern Pacific are cooler than normal. The lower surface temperatures suppress transfer of heat and moisture to the atmosphere, again affecting air pressure and precipitation patterns across a large region.

So, what does this mean - specifically, what does this mean for California?

• The prolonged drought in California will continue through 2015.

• Even if a couple of wet storms move through California this spring, there won't be nearly enough precipitation to impact the overall drought situation.

• Individual storms and precipitation amounts related to this El Niño will be episodic at best; essentially, there is no predictability for California precipitation during a weak spring El Niño event. 

In other words, there is no relationship/correlation between enhanced precipitation in CA and a weak El Niño event.

• Even if we end up with several wet storms over the next month, they will likely be warmer storms with high snow levels.

• As far as water storage, the snowpack across the Sierra Nevada is dismal, at best, and remains below 20% statewide.

• How does this compare to past weak El Niño events? 

Five weak El Niño years have been identified on the El Niño Blog: 1953-1954, 1958-1959, 1976-1977, 1977-1978, and 2004-2005. 

Precipitation with each of these events was widely variable and no solid trends could be formed.

• The full report can be found by clicking the link below: 

http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/enso_advisory/ensodisc.pdf 

Wildland firefighter uniform redesigned to provide better protection & functionality

Would it surprise you to know that the most common cause of injuries to wildland firefighters is not burns?

When leaders at the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) noticed their wildland firefighters were experiencing more heat stress injuries—like heat exhaustion and heat stroke—than burn injuries, they wanted to know why and how to prevent them. They soon realized their uniforms were part of the problem. Working with a team at the University of California, Davis, they developed technical and design specifications for a new uniform aimed at increasing the comfort and breathability while maintaining the current level of protection against flames.

In 2011, CAL FIRE approached the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate’s First Responders Group (FRG) requesting assistance in developing prototype garments. FRG began coordinating with CAL FIRE, California fire departments, and the U.S. Forest Service, who had previously established a working group of wildland firefighters to investigate improvements to their garments to address the heat exhaustion issue. After years of development and testing, the group collectively improved wildland fire advanced personal protection garments, and have published a report on FirstResponder.gov in the hopes of assisting other wildland firefighting organizations.  

According to FRG Program Manager William Deso, the group considered improvements to the whole garment ensemble—undergarments, socks, shirt, and pants—during the effort. Deso partnered with the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Systems Center (Natick) to identify a fabric for undergarments that would not melt or drip, would wick away sweat, and would allow the material to breathe. DOD had already developed and issued an advanced fabric for undergarments and socks for deployed military members for use during thermal blasts. This allowed Deso and his team to focus on development of the shirt and pants.

“We were able to use garments that the Department of Defense (DOD) had previously developed and that saved time and money,” Deso explained. They then advertised to identify fabric manufacturers that met CAL FIRE’s specifications, and sent samples to North Carolina State University, which manages a leading personal protection equipment (PPE) laboratory, for verification testing.

In addition to developing the new shirt and pants with material that had better breathability, Deso worked with the wildland firefighters to ensure the actual garments were comfortable, more user-friendly, and better suited to their mission. 

“We had a clothing designer come to our working group meeting,” Deso recounted. “He talked to them to find out what they wanted and required in order to make the garment functional for their specific tasks. He built a garment that incorporated the specific features identified by the firefighters and wore it to the next meeting so they could look at it on him and evaluate it. They provided input; he made adjustments.”

It took three iterations, but the wildland firefighters finally had the design they wanted. Deso distributed the garments and began testing in the field in late 2012, and received feedback from firefighters on the garments’ performance. Based on that feedback, FRG tweaked the uniform and distributed a limited number of a second-generation version for additional testing in 2013. Deso and his team documented the process, the fabric, and the garments’ performance in a report to allow other wildland firefighters, not just CAL FIRE, to benefit from the development effort.

Deso and the team hope that they can transition the PPE into the commercial market. Vendors are already indicating interest in making this a possibility by requesting the report and patterns. “We hope folks will use the report and that wildland firefighter procurement officials will compare what they currently have to what’s available. These new garments offer the same level or better of protection and are much more comfortable.”