Rota is declared StormReady and TsunamiReady

Rota has been recognized as the fourth western North Pacific location to become StormReady and TsunamiReady.

Rota joins Guam, Saipan, Tinian, and other StormReady communities in 50 states and 61 other TsunamiReady communities in 10 states, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the CNMI.

Rota Mayor Joseph S. Inos said this recognition “validates the value we place on education and preparedness, and our commitment to public safety. It further illustrates our experience in dealing with disasters, particularly typhoons.”

“Rota has worked hard to earn the StormReady and TsunamiReady titles, making it the fourth location in the western North Pacific to do so,” said Jeff LaDouce, director of the National Weather Service Pacific Region.

Rota officials were recently presented a recognition letter and special StormReady and TsunamiReady certificates at the Rota Resort and Country Club. The recognition must be renewed every three years.

Joining Rota residents at the ceremony were National Weather Service representatives from the Weather Forecast Office in Guam, Emergency Management representatives, and the National StormReady and TsunamiReady program manager from Silver Spring, Maryland, Chris Maier.

To be recognized as StormReady and TsunamiReady, a community must: Establish a 24-hour warning point and emergency operations center; create a system that monitors local weather and ocean conditions; develop multiple ways to receive tsunami and severe weather warnings, and alert the public in a timely manner; develop a formal hazard plan and conduct emergency exercises; and promote public readiness through community education.

In the last 12 years, Rota has experienced a number of very strong typhoons—Keith, Paka, Chataan, Pongsona, and Chaba. These produced high winds and storm surge causing millions of dollars of damage, but fortunately did not result in any deaths.

The Mariana Islands also have a history of tsunamis. Three have caused damage at more than one location in 1849, 1892, and in 1993 with one death occurring in Guam during the 1849 event.

Of particular concern are the underwater volcanoes to the northwest and the Marianas Trench to the east, one of the world’s deepest trenches with a history of strong seismic events. A small section of the trench near Rota has a shallow subduction plate, the type that can produce earthquakes that trigger tsunamis. The epicenter of a magnitude 8.1 earthquake that occurred on Aug. 8, 1993, was not far from Rota.

While no community can be totally typhoon-proof, the StormReady program helps provide Rota with opportunities to minimize the threat to life and property, said Genevieve Cruz Miller, meteorologist in charge of the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Guam.

“I am personally very proud of Rota, since I have very close ties to the island. My father, Jack, is from here. It is noteworthy that Rota has the only widespread siren warning system in the Marianas. It is also noteworthy that the island has some of the narrowest reefs and one of the highest storm surge vulnerabilities in Micronesia. East Harbor had a 23-foot storm surge during Typhoon Pongsona,” she said. (PR)