Alaska to Conduct First Statewide Tsunami Warning System Test

The Alaskan coastline could be subject to an earthquake and tsunami similar to the Indonesian earthquake that devastated shores around the Indian Ocean last year. The southern Alaskan coastline sits over a seismically active subduction zone; the same type of tectonic setting as the site of the December 26, 2004 Indonesian earthquake. On March 30 at 9:45 am, the entire state of Alaska will receive the first-ever test of the tsunami warning communications system. According to a report released by NOAA, the tsunami alert will involve several federal and local government agencies and include a live television broadcast of tsunami warning codes in addition to a radio broadcast. The last great tsunami to hit Alaska followed a magnitude 9.2 earthquake on March 27, 1964, the largest earthquake ever recorded followed now by the magnitude 9.0 Indonesian quake. Tsunami wave heights from the 1964 earthquake reached 67 meters and contributed to 123 deaths in Alaska, Oregon, and California. The test is timed to occur during Tsunami Awareness Week (March 27 - April 2), proclaimed by Alaska Governor Frank Murkowski to mark the anniversary of the great 1964 quake.