PUBLIC LAW 109–424—DEC. 20, 2006
120 STAT. 2903
SEC. 4. TSUNAMI FORECASTING AND WARNING PROGRAM.
33 USC 3203.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, through the National Weather Service and in consultation with other relevant Administration offices, shall operate a program to provide tsunami detection, forecasting, and warnings for the Pacific and Arctic Ocean regions and for the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico region. (b) COMPONENTS.—The program under this section shall— (1) include the tsunami warning centers established under subsection (d); (2) utilize and maintain an array of robust tsunami detection technologies; (3) maintain detection equipment in operational condition to fulfill the detection, forecasting, and warning requirements of this Act; (4) provide tsunami forecasting capability based on models and measurements, including tsunami inundation models and maps for use in increasing the preparedness of communities, including through the TsunamiReady program; (5) maintain data quality and management systems to support the requirements of the program; (6) include a cooperative effort among the Administration, the United States Geological Survey, and the National Science Foundation under which the Geological Survey and the National Science Foundation shall provide rapid and reliable seismic information to the Administration from international and domestic seismic networks; (7) provide a capability for the dissemination of warnings to at-risk States and tsunami communities through rapid and reliable notification to government officials and the public, including utilization of and coordination with existing Federal warning systems, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Weather Radio All Hazards Program; (8) allow, as practicable, for integration of tsunami detection technologies with other environmental observing technologies; and (9) include any technology the Administrator considers appropriate to fulfill the objectives of the program under this section. (c) SYSTEM AREAS.—The program under this section shall operate— (1) a Pacific tsunami warning system capable of forecasting tsunami anywhere in the Pacific and Arctic Ocean regions and providing adequate warnings; and (2) an Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico tsunami warning system capable of forecasting tsunami and providing adequate warnings in areas of the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico that are determined— (A) to be geologically active, or to have significant potential for geological activity; and (B) to pose significant risks of tsunami for States along the coastal areas of the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, or Gulf of Mexico. (d) TSUNAMI WARNING CENTERS.— (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, through the National Weather Service, shall maintain or establish—
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