Trump Cuts Tsunami Warning System, Leaving Entire West Coast Vulnerable

The Trump administration is cutting back
warning systems for tsunamis on the West Coast

 Trump administration cutbacks are endangering millions of residents along the West Coast who are prone to tsunamis.

Per NBC News:

"Nine seismic stations in Alaska are set to go dark this month, leaving tsunami forecasters without important data used to determine whether an earthquake will send a destructive wave barreling toward the West Coast."

A federal grant that funded the nine stations lapses last year, and the Trump administration has decided not to renew it. The loss of those stations means determining the magnitude and shape of earthquakes will be delayed. 

Quickly figuring out such data is crucial for timely warnings on whether an earthquake will generate a tsunami, and if so, how big the waves will be, and where and when they are most likely to hit. 

The cynical, paranoid part of my mind guesses Trump figures the West Coast states are all blue, and maybe he figures all those Democrats deserve to be wiped out by a tsunami. 

Earthquakes are common along and south of the Alaskan coast. Depending on the type of quake, tsunamis can spread destruction thousands of miles away. A huge 1964 earthquake centered near Anchorage, Alaska, sent a tsunami into the U.S. West Coast. 

That 1964 tsunami killed 12 people, most of them in Crescent City, California, but one death was recorded as far south as Los Angeles. The tsunami caused $17 million in damage.

This is the latest blow to the United States tsunami warning system, NBC News reports. 

The U.S. has two tsunami warning centers, one in Palmer, Alaska and another in Honolulu. They're operated under the umbrella of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The tsunami centers have been victimized by steep cutbacks and staff shortages under the Trump administration, much like the National Weather Service, which is also under the umbrella of NOAA.

Says NBC:

"Of the 20 full-time positions at the center in Alaska, only 11 are currently filled, according to Tom Fahy, the union legislative director for the National Weather Service Employees Organization. In Hawaii, four of the 16 roles are open." 

Reports are NOAA is trying to hire more employees for those centers. We'll see. 

But the Trump people have  already ditched top talent. NOAA in February laid off Corina Allen, the National Weather Service's tsunami program manager. She's since gotten a job with the Washington State Department of Natural Resources. 

Allen is working to protect the state of Washington and prepare its residents for future tsunamis. If she can't do it for the nation, at least she can do it for Washington State.

The Trump crew, specifically the Trump minion mucky mucks at NOAA, has reduced funding for the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program, which pays for most of states' tsunami risk reduction work. 

Usually the mitigation program gets $6 million a year to operate. This year, it's down to $4 million, NBC News reports. 

Trumpers are also getting rid of ways to warn Alaskans of tsunamis and other deadly hazards. Congress, at Trump's behest, rescinded funding for Public Radio and PBS stations. In much of rural Alaska public radio and public television stations are pretty much the only way for people to receive emergency warnings. 

Time is of the essence with these emergency warnings. When an offshore earthquake threatened parts of Alaska with a tsunami this summer before the cuts, residents heard alerts on public radio and had begun evacuating even before the Alaska Emergency Management Agency contacted officials on the at risk islands.

In this summer's case, the tsunami wasn't particularly big and caused little damage. But people from the Aleutian Islands of Alaska to San Diego, California might not be so lucky next time. 

Thanks to the shortsightedness, to put it politely, that permeates the Trump administration.