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The warning came after an earthquake in Chile caused a tsunami which traveled across the globe to the Western Pacific region. The tsunami glanced the mainland of the United States and Hawaii and hit mainland Japan causing minor property damage and no injuries.
The first reports of the incoming tsunami predicted it would pummel low-lying areas of Okinawa with 4- to 6-foot waves. However, the waves ended up smaller than originally anticipated.
U.S. military installations throughout Okinawa from Camp Kinser, in southern Okinawa, to the Okuma Recreation Facility in the north, evacuated the flood plains aboard installations and restricted movement by personnel into some of these areas until the tsunami warning was cancelled, said Jay Farmer, the Marine Corps Bases Japan deputy assistant G-3 chief of staff.
All personnel in areas designated as red areas, areas below 30-feet mean sea level, were ordered to evacuate to higher ground. Personnel living between 30-feet and 60-feet above sea level were recommended to evacuate.
Notifications of the incoming tsunami were sent out by mass e-mails, family readiness officers, the public address systems aboard all Marine Corps camps and American Forces Network radio and television broadcasts, said Barbara A. Lubkin, the deputy camp commander of Camps Lester and Foster.
The auxiliary security forces were activated, and those Marines, along with Provost Marshal's Office Marines, went door-to-door in the Old Lester Housing Area to fully evacuate the area.
With plenty of advance notice and repeated warnings, personnel were able to evacuate with their families, pets and a few possessions.
"Could you hear the Lester PA system? They kept announcing the evacuation, and there were Marines going door-to-door," said Barbara A. Rich, a religious education coordinator with the U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa Chaplin's Office who took refuge at the Camp Foster Post Exchange area, one of the highest areas on the base. "We took the basics: passports, birth certificates, checkbook, kids and identification. The things we would need right away if something happened."
SOFA personnel living in off-base housing received the same notifications from AFN TV and radio broadcast as those who live aboard the bases.
Service members and their families with nowhere else to go were advised of areas within military installations throughout Okinawa they could go for shelter.
"We were more than happy to go, just to be on the safe side," said Gina R. Monteiro, a secretary with the Camp Foster and Lester Camp Services Office.
Even at the Okuma Recreation Facility, visitors were advised of the incoming tsunami and evacuated. Any of the visitors who did not have transportation were taken to the top of a nearby hill for safety until the warning was cancelled, said Air Force Capt. Adam S. Vaccarezza, the detachment commander of the Okuma Recreation Facility.
"I basically wanted to make sure guests got out in time. I didn't want them in an area surrounded by water. I had to get them to a safer area on higher ground," he said.
Even though tsunamis are not a regular occurrence on Okinawa, the commands aboard the military installations were able to effectively come together to form a plan and implement it when the threat arose.
"The whole Marine Corps community did well, I've been here 10 years, and we haven't done this yet. Each of the camp commands worked well together," Farmer said.
In the event a tsunami occurs in the future, the designated areas may change and residents should tune into AFN radio and TV for further guidance, Farmer said.
To see which base housing areas are within flood plains on Okinawa, refer to the Kadena Airbase Emergency Actions Guide at http://www.kadena.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-070209-074.pdf
| Date Taken: | 03.12.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 03.24.2010 01:40 |
| Story ID: | 47117 |
| Location: | CAMP FOSTER, OKINAWA, JP |
| Web Views: | 275 |
| Downloads: | 82 |
This work, Tsunami threatens Okinawa, U.S. military responds, by LCpl Joseph Cabrera, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
