Nov. 30 marks the end of the hurricane season for the central and eastern Pacific as well as for the Atlantic. And although the Pacific experienced 10 hurricanes, one tropical storm and two tropical depressions, none of them visited the Hawaiian Islands this year.
So with the 2011 hurricane season safely behind us our state’s recreational boaters and the rest of the population for that matter can now turn their collective attention and emergency preparedness to the potential threats of earthquakes and their occasional accomplices tsunamis.
For boaters, the actions to be taken for a tsunami are strikingly different than for a hurricane in that the surge from a tsunami may devastate their vessels moored in a harbor, while it can pass unnoticed when they are out at sea.
According to Hawaii’s Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation, there are several steps boat owners should take in preparation for a tsunami, but they should be planned for long before the event occurs.
First, those with boats stored on trailers in “evacuation zones” (shown on maps in most phone books) should be moved to higher ground once a “warning” is declared.
Moored boats, however, have the best chance of survival if taken offshore to waters at least 1,200 feet deep – where the tsunami will pass by harmlessly - until an official “all-clear” announcement is made.
Still, officials also warn that although vessels at sea will escape damage, skippers must be aware that their homeports may not have faired as well, so it’s best to have food, water and fuel aboard for at least 24 hours.
If owners are unable to move their boats out of evacuation zones, as a last resort they should attempt to remove such valuable items as outboards, radios, and navigation devises before securing their vessels and moving themselves to safety.
Making these plans for action long in advance and sharing plans with other responsible parties, officials say, can make deciding what to do much easier whenever a tsunami alert is given.
Comments