September 29, 2009, 5:48 p.m.: A magnitude 8.0 earthquake strikes in the Samoan Islands and washes a 53-ft.-above sea level tsunami over Poloa, American Samoa, minutes later. Six hours and 37 minutes later, tidal gauges 4,392 miles away at Kahului, Maui, Hawaii, record a tsunami surge of just over 1 foot above sea level. At just under 12 hours elapsed time, tidal gauges 8,475 miles away in La Push, Washington, on the northwest corner of the continental United States, measure a tsunami surge of about six inches above sea level.

Officials in California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia surely watched anxiously, then breathed a sigh of relief as the NOAA Pacific Tsunami Warning Center broadcast, then quickly canceled a tsunami warning for the West Coast. In Tokeland, WA, about 50 miles as the seagull flies to the south of La Push, the Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe launched a community-wide evacuation exercise to again test its emergency preparedness system.

The Shoalwater Bay Tribe began developing its emergency preparedness program in 2005. In 2007, winter storms that damaged buildings and cut off this coastal community from outside help offered a chance to rehearse its preparations. The first full-scale community evacuation drill was held in 2006. (See Tribal Preparedness from the February 2008 issue of EMS Magazine.)

FROM TSUNAMIS TO ALL-HAZARDS

As successful as that first community-wide drill was, the tribe didn't stop there. Emergency manager and tribal elder Lee Shipman continued leading efforts to improve their preparedness. Initial plans were aimed at protection from their gravest threats--earthquakes and tsunamis. As the Samoa experience proves, these threats can originate anywhere in the Pacific Rim.

After the 2006 drill, the Tribe made improvements to its original planning and began expanding to encompass an "all-hazards" mitigation capability. The original planning team has morphed into a dedicated part of the Tribe's infrastructure. In addition, more and more officials and residents of the surrounding communities are getting involved on behalf of the Tribe and in their own towns.

After four Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) trainings, an estimated 80% of the Shoalwater Bay Tribe and family members living on or near the reservation are now trained. Training sessions have been opened to the general public in surrounding communities as well. In the most recent class, 39 attendees came from Westport, North Cove, Tokeland and other remote areas.