NWS Recognizes Mayagüez as Puerto Rico's
First TsunamiReady^TM Community

WFO San Juan MIC Israel Matos addresses attendees at TsunamiReady recognition ceremony in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico

(May 12, 2006) -- Officials from the National Weather Service (NWS) recognized Mayagüez as the first TsunamiReady community in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. The fifth largest city on the island, Mayagüez now joins 28 other TsunamiReady communities in seven states.

Located on the island's west coast, Mayagüez has a population of 105,000 people - nearly a third of whom live and work in areas considered vulnerable to tsunamis. Of particular concern is the Puerto Rico Trench to the northwest. Highly susceptible to seismic activity, the Trench is a boundary between the Caribbean, North American and South American Plates. Since 1848, eight tsunamis have originated there causing more than 2,500 deaths. In 1918, a 7.5 magnitude earthquake in the Trench resulted in a tsunami that killed 140 people in Puerto Rico.

Working closely with the NWS Forecast Office in San Juan, as well as the Puerto Rico Seismic network, Mayagüez completed a rigorous set of warning and evacuation criteria to meet the guidelines for TsunamiReady recognition.

"While no community can be tsunami proof, Mayagüez now has the means to minimize the loss of life from any future tsunami," said Bill Proenza, director of the National Weather Service Southern Region. "A tsunami may not strike for many generations, but then again, it could happen next week. We now look forward to expanding the program to include all Puerto Rico coastal communities and eventually - all of our Caribbean neighbors."

City officials were presented with a recognition letter and special TsunamiReady signs in a ceremony at the municipal building in Mayagüez. The TsunamiReady process is ongoing and the city will be up for recertification in three years. To be recognized as TsunamiReady, a community must establish a 24 hour warning point, develop multiple ways to receive tsunami warnings and alert the public, develop a formal tsunami hazard plan and conduct emergency exercises and promote public readiness through community education.

Additional information about the National Weather Service TsunamiReady program is available at http://www.stormready.noaa.gov/tsunamiready. Twenty eight communities along the U.S. East and West Coasts, Alaska and Hawaii have previously been recognized as TsunamiReady.

NWS Southern Region Director Bill Proenza addresses attendees at TsunamiReady recognition ceremony in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico