Community Invited to Participate in Tsunami Preparedness Week 2022

The Offices of Guam Homeland Security and Civil Defense (GHS/OCD), following a nationwide initiative, invite the community to celebrate Tsunami Preparedness Week (TPW) from April 3 through April 9, 2022.

Governor Lou Leon Guerrero will declare the week of April 3 – 9, 2022 as Tsunami Preparedness Week, to promote tsunami hazard preparedness as an active collaboration among federal, territorial, local emergency management agencies, community leaders, and the public. The TPW Proclamation Signing will be held virtually on Friday, April 1, 2022, at 11:30 a.m. and will stream live on the Governor’s Facebook page.

The National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program in conjunction with several states and territories, declare a TPW for their respective areas each year to encourage people to prepare for tsunami disasters. Governor Leon Guerrero’s declaration of TPW provides an excellent opportunity to highlight Guam’s abilities to recognize the threat tsunamis pose to our community.

Throughout the week of April 3 - 9, GHS/OCD will promote information through social media about how to build an emergency kit, how to make an emergency communication plan and how to prepare for a tsunami evacuation. GHS/OCD invites the community to follow Guam Homeland Security on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/GHSOCD/, follow @guamhomelandsecurity on Instagram and visit the GHS/OCD website at www.ghs.guam.gov throughout the week to participate.

Residents and visitors are encouraged to use TPW to open discussions with friends and family about tsunami preparedness, including:

Have a go kit and supplies ready so you can evacuate at a moment’s notice.
Know where you need to go from where you currently are: work, home, school or when recreating.
For a near-shore earthquake and tsunami: The shaking is your warning. Don’t wait for a siren or alert – get to high ground fast.
For distant tsunamis: Because distant tsunamis may take hours to arrive, you will be alerted by emergency officials.
Visit the following resources for more information:

For more information, contact GHS/OCD Program Coordinator, Denille Calvo at (671) 475-9600 or via email at denille.calvo@ghs.guam.gov. For media inquiries, contact Public Information Officer, Jenna G. Blas at (671) 478-0208 or via email at jenna.g.blas@ghs.guam.gov.

X Flooding is a temporary overflowing of water onto land that is normally dry. Flooding may happen with only a few inches of water, or it may cover a house to the rooftop. There are many possible causes of floods including heavy rain, coastal storms and storm surge, waterway overflow from being blocked with debris, or overflow of levees, dams, or waste water systems. Flooding can occur slowly over many days or happen very quickly with little or no warning, called flash floods.

To learn more, visit https://www.ready.gov/floods

Wildfire

Regularly clean the roof and gutters.
Maintain an area approximately 30’ away from you home that is free of anything that will burn, such as wood piles, dried leaves, newspapers and other brush.
Connect garden hoses long enough to reach any area of the home and fill garbage cans, tubs, or other large containers with water.
Review your homeowner's insurance policy and also prepare/update a list of your home's contents.

Fire Weather

Turn on your TV/radio. You’ll get the latest weather updates and emergency instructions.
Know where to go. If you are ordered to evacuate, know the route to take and have plan of where you will go. Check-in with your friends and family.
Keep your car fueled, in good condition, and stocked with emergency supplies and a change of clothes.

Drought

Conserve water

Take shorter showers.

Turn off the water while brushing your teeth or shaving.
Run the washer less frequently and only when you have a full load.
Water your lawn less frequently and do so when the temperature is cooler in the early morning or late evening.
When you run the tap to heat or cool water, keep a pitcher to store the water and use it to water plants.
Avoid washing your car.

Practice fire prevention

Don't set off fireworks when conditions are dry.
Deposit cigarette butts in the proper receptacle to avoid starting a
Pour water over camp fires and backyard fire pits to ensure they are completely out before leaving them unattended.

Follow directions from local officials. If there are restrictions on water usage, be sure to heed them.

To learn more, visit https://www.ready.gov/wildfires and https://www.ready.gov/drought

X
Typhoons/Hurricanes are massive storm systems that form over the water and move toward land. Threats from typhoons/hurricanes include high winds, heavy rainfall, storm surge, coastal and inland flooding, and rip currents.

“Hurricanes” form in the Atlantic Northeast Pacific region and “Typhoons” form in the Northwest Pacific Region. These large storms are call cyclones in other parts of the world.

To learn more, visit https://www.ready.gov/hurricanes.