RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, the massive loss of life and devastation caused by the December 26, 2004, tsunami in the Indian Ocean illustrates how powerful and destructive a tsunami can be; and

WHEREAS, because of its unique geographic location in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, Hawaii faces the threat of tsunami from multiple sources, including earthquakes from Alaska, South America, Japan, Kamchatka Peninsula, and volcanic activity on the Big Island of Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, among natural disasters, the tsunami is the number one killer in the Hawaiian Islands, responsible for 222 fatalities in the 20^th Century alone; and

WHEREAS, historic tsunami events in Hawaii have underscored the vital importance of early evacuation from coastal areas threatened by inundation; and

WHEREAS, in 1949, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center was established in Hawaii, in part to provide adequate warning of tsunamis to the Hawaiian Islands and other areas in the Pacific Ocean; and

WHEREAS, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, through the use of the Deep Ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunami (DART) buoys, has made great strides in its ability to accurately predict the size, speed, and impact of a tsunami wave which may then be used to determine when an evacuation is necessary; and

WHEREAS, while there is minimal coverage of DART buoys along the northeastern portion of the Pacific, there still remains many areas along the southeastern, northwestern, southwestern, and western portions of the Pacific that do not have DART buoys and, as a result, forecasters are not able to receive the most up-to-date, accurate information on potential tsunami waves; and

WHEREAS, complete DART buoy coverage of the Pacific Rim and the Hawaiian archipelago will minimize false tsunami warnings that may be delivered based on incomplete tsunami forecast models, and thus save the state millions of dollars that would otherwise be wasted through loss of work productivity caused by the evacuation; it would also allow tsunami forecasters to deliver warnings earlier than they are able to with the present system; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2005, the Senate concurring, that the President of the United States and the Congress of the United States are urged to continue their support and funding of the DART buoy system; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that funding be provided to allow prompt and thorough maintenance of existing DART buoys and to allow for the deployment of enough additional DART buoys to provide the Hawaiian Islands with the highest possible level of early tsunami detection; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States; Majority Leader of the United States Senate; Speaker of the United States House of Representatives; members of Hawaii's Congressional delegation; the Governor; President of the Hawaii Senate; Speaker of the Hawaii House of Representatives; and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

Report Title:

Requesting congressional support for providing funding for the DART buoy system.