"A magnitude 8.0 earthquake occurred on September 29, 2009, 120 miles southwest of American Samoa. This major earthquake generated a tsunami that took many lives and caused significant destruction to neighboring islands in the Pacific Ocean. With only 17 minutes between the beginning of the earthquake and the arrival of the first waves in American Samoa, preparedness efforts and rapid warnings were critical for residents to protect themselves. Although reduced in size, the tsunami generated by this earthquake reached the Hawaiian Islands and eventually the West Coast of the continental United States. There were no major impacts in Hawaii or along the West Coast. The mission of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service is to provide weather, hydrologic, and climate forecasts and warnings for the United States, its territories, adjacent waters, and ocean areas for the protection of life and property and the enhancement of the national economy. This mission includes warnings for tsunami events. The National Weather Service chartered a team to assess the performance of our offices and the effectiveness of our services as they related to this tsunami event. The team focused on tsunami-affected areas served by the National Weather Service in American Samoa and Hawaii. The goal of this report is to share best practices and challenges with all our offices in order to continuously improve services. Without a doubt, strong tsunami outreach and education efforts by the International Tsunami Information Center, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, the Weather Service Office in Pago Pago, American Samoa officials, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration partners saved numerous lives. In fact, because of public tsunami education and outreach, people knew what actions to take based on the earthquake duration, magnitude, and the receding of the ocean. However, challenges were identified in the areas of internal and external communication and warning systems during this major disaster. These are further detailed in this report"--Preface.
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"The year 2011 began with extremely wet soil conditions over much of the northern plains in the north central United States. By early March, significa...
Overall, the NWS service to the nation during Isabel was exemplary. Emergency management from the local county and city level to the highest officials...
"On May 3, 1999, one of the largest tornado outbreaks in history struck west-central Oklahoma and southern Kansas, killing48 people, leaving thousands...
"The combination of a surface low-pressure system located along a stationary frontal boundary off the U.S. Southeast coast, a slow moving upper low to...
"January 6-8, 1996, a major "nor'easter" paralyzed the Eastern Seaboard for the better part of a week. Right on the heels of a Federal Government shut...
"During June 2008, record or major flooding occurred across large areas of the central United States. The flooding had devastating impacts, with 11 pe...
"Hurricane Matthew left a trail of destruction from the Caribbean to Virginia from September 29 - October 9, 2016. High winds, pounding surf, storm su...
"Due to the magnitude of the impacts of Hurricane Katrina, the NWS assembled a Service Assessment Team (SAT) to review the performance of its offices ...
"The primary purpose of this Service Assessment is to document the National Weather Service's (NWS) performance in fulfilling its mission of providing...
United States, National Weather Service., Eastern Region,
1998 | Service assessment
Description:
"The primary purpose of this Service Assessment is to document the National Weather Service's (NWS's) performance in fulfilling its mission of providi...
"On the evening of April 8, 1998, tornadoes powerful as F5 on the Fujita Scale swept through the northern half of Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia ca...
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"On August 21-29, 2011, Hurricane Irene left a devastating imprint on the Caribbean and U.S. East Coast. The storm took the lives of more than 40 peop...
"On March 22, 2009, Mount Redoubt volcano, 106 miles southwest of Anchorage, Alaska, began a series of eruptions after persisting in Orange or "Watch"...
"Hurricane Charley made landfall on the southwest coast of Florida near Cayo Costa, just west of Ft. Myers around 3:45 p.m. EDT on August 13, with max...
"During the afternoon and evening of March 1, 2007, deadly tornadoes moved across southern Alabama and Georgia. In a 14-hour period beginning at 12:30...
The violent tornado which struck Spencer, South Dakota, on the evening of May 30, 1998, killed six residents and destroyed almost the entire town. The...
"Hurricane Bertha was an early season Category 2 storm when it made landfall on the coast of North Carolina on July 12, 1996. Twelve deaths have been ...
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