White House Updates On Earthquake In Chile And Tsunami Warnings
The President made the following statement on the earthquake in Chile and preparations for a possible tsunami that could reach American shores later today:
Tsunami warnings are in affect for Hawaii, N. Marianas, American Samoa, Marshall and Solomon Islands. A tsunami advisory is in effect along the west coast of the United States and Alaska. More information can be found at the National Weather Center’s website.
FEMA continues to monitor the situation, and through Region IX in California, is in contact with the State of Hawaii, and recommends that individuals follow the advice of local officials. FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate is monitoring the situation from FEMA Headquarters in Washington, DC and released the following statement:
FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security are closely monitoring the situation, and officials are in close contact with the State of Hawaii and the U.S. territories in the Pacific Ocean that could be impacted by a potential tsunami. FEMA stands ready to assist should a request for assistance be made, and does have pre-deployed assets in Hawaii, including food, water, generators and other resources. We urge all individuals to follow the direction provided by local officials.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has been briefed and is monitoring developments from Vancouver, where she is serving as the lead of the US Delegation at the Olympics.
More information and resources (updated throughout the day):
- The National Weather Center’s Tsunami.gov.
- General Information on Tsumani preparedness as well as a tool to determine if your address is in a tsunami evacuation zone.
- In Hawaii, citizens can go to http://www.scd.state.hi.us for the latest news and information. Additionally, the States of California, Washington, and Oregon have similar sites on their web pages dedicated to this.
- The State Department has collected information and resources at www.state.gov/chilequake. If you are U.S citizen looking for a loved one in Chile, please contact State’s Consular Affairs Bureau on 1-888-407-4747.
- A “person finder” has also been published to help find individuals in affected area in Chile – this resource is not maintained by the US government.
Robert Gibbs is White House Press Secretary
Topics: Alaska, America, American Samoa, California, Central America, Chile, disaster, earthquake, Federal Emergency Management Ageny, FEMA, generators, Governance, government, Hawaii, health care, Homeland Security, Marshall Islands, N. Marianas, National Weather Center, ood, Pacific Ocean, President Obama, Solomon Islands, South America, tidal wave, Tsumani preparedness, tsunami, Tsunami advisory, tsunami evacuation zone, U.S., U.S. territories, United States, Vancouver, Washington, water, weather, West Coast, White House
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