Tsunamis for Institutions — Phase 1: Before

Every institution located in a coastal area must determine in advance whether its premises lie within a zone susceptible to tsunami flooding.

You must not assume that an establishment is safe simply because it is a certain distance from the beach. Tsunamis can travel inland, move along rivers, estuaries, canals and other waterways, and affect sectors that do not directly face the sea.

Maps, heights, routes and boundaries established by the local authorities must take priority over any general rule.

As an international reference for preparedness, where no local information is available, the goal may be to consider heading for a place approximately 30 meters above sea level, or as far inland as possible. This reference does not replace the official hazard and evacuation maps for each locality.

The plan must be written, up to date, known to those with operational responsibilities, and able to be carried out even if the institution's highest senior authority is not present.

At a minimum, the following must be considered:

The institution must determine who will direct the emergency response beforehand.

At a minimum, the following must be established:

No critical role should depend exclusively on a single person.

The emergency may occur when directors, managers, teachers, religious leaders, coaches or other usual leads are absent.

The institution must define in advance who can initiate an evacuation and under what circumstances.

The procedure must not create an unnecessary delay by waiting for approval through the chain of command when there is a clear natural sign of a tsunami.

All staff must know the main natural signs:

a strong or prolonged earthquake

a sudden, abnormal change in sea level

an unusual or intense roar coming from the ocean.

Planning must start from the assumption that evacuation on foot will be necessary. After an earthquake there may be damaged streets, debris, downed power lines, congestion, traffic lights out of service and blocked routes. The mass use of vehicles can cause traffic jams and make evacuation difficult.

The institution must:

Vehicles should only be incorporated into the procedure when local conditions, the specific needs of certain individuals, or instructions from the authorities justify it.

Horizontal evacuation to high ground and out of the threatened area must be the top priority whenever it can be done in time.

Where high ground is not accessible, or there is not enough time, some localities have structures specifically assessed or designated for vertical evacuation.

The institution must know in advance:

You should never wait for an emergency to decide where a vertical evacuation will take place.

People present must be able to quickly understand how to leave the establishment.

The institution must keep the following clearly marked:

Where applicable, evacuation floor plans must be posted in visible locations.

Signage must be understandable to a person visiting the establishment for the first time.

Where the institution regularly receives people who do not understand the local language, signage using pictograms, universally recognizable symbols, or instructions in the necessary languages should be taken into consideration.

Evacuation routes are not storage spaces.

They must never be blocked with:

The institution must know which systems the locality uses:

Where sirens exist, staff must know their signals and be able to distinguish periodic tests from a real alert.

The institution must have multiple channels of receiving information.

Receiving an alert is not enough: there must be a mechanism for immediately passing it on to everyone present.

Depending on the characteristics of the establishment, the following may be used:

The system must be able to reach people who are in:

An alternative procedure must be planned in case of a power outage.

In establishments with many occupants, evacuation must be organized in advance by sector, group or unit.

Each lead must know:

• Which people or sector they are responsible for
• which exit to use
• which route to follow
• which alternative route exists
• which safe zone to go to
• how to report an incident
• where they will carry out the head count.

Organization must reduce unnecessary cross-traffic, backtracking and crowding.

The plan must take into account the maximum number and the characteristics of the people who may be present.

Evacuating the following, is not the same:

The institution must assess its actual evacuation capacity, taking into account reasonably foreseeable maximum-occupancy conditions.

Everyone with responsibilities during an emergency must receive training in advance.

They must know:

An institution cannot assume that everyone present knows the risk.

Hotels, churches, temples, clubs, community centers, educational institutions, associations, recreational establishments and organizations may receive people who are completely unfamiliar with the evacuation routes.

Therefore:

The plan must work even when a significant proportion of the people present have never been in the establishment before.

Planning must be inclusive. You must not wait for an emergency to decide how to evacuate a person with a disability or reduced mobility.

The institution must identify in advance:

Whenever possible, people with disabilities themselves should take part in planning the procedures that involve them.

The following may be considered:

• Visual signals
• alarm lights
• vibration
• text messages
• adapted devices
• direct notice from previously assigned staff.

• Routes must be kept permanently clear.
• Designated leads must know the appropriate way to provide assistance.
• Where assistance dogs are present, their evacuation must be built into the institutional procedure.

Where applicable, use:

• Short instructions
• pictograms
• visual sequences
• practical demonstrations
• previously rehearsed routines.

Institutions with minors in their care must establish specific procedures.

Children must especially understand that:

They must stay with the group

they must obey the responsible adult

they must not go back for belongings

they must not try to look for their parents

they must not leave a safe zone on their own.

The plan must determine:

Daycare centers, educational establishments, community centers, religious organizations, and any institution that may have babies or young children, must take into account that some of them will not be able to move on their own.

The plan must determine:

Institutions that receive or house older adults must take into account that some may need more time to move, use mobility devices, require medications, or need assistance. Age alone does not imply incapacity.

Planning must be based on each person's actual needs, and determine:

The time it takes must be confirmed through actual drills, not theoretical estimates.

When an institution has in its care people who depend on medications, treatments, oxygen, electrical equipment or other medical devices, these needs must be built into the plan.

As applicable, the following should be considered:

• Essential medication
• information on dosage
• allergies
• batteries
• chargers

• suitable alternative power sources
• medical supplies
• basic instructions for third parties
• contact information for medical services.

Medications must be stored and administered in accordance with the corresponding guidelines.

Equipment must be determined according to the:

Consider having:

• First aid kits
• flashlights (including some head-mounted ones)
• spare batteries
• battery-powered or hand-crank AM/FM portable radio
• whistles
• charged power banks
• charging cables
• masks suitable for dusty environments
• gloves

• basic hygiene items
• emergency water
• thermal blankets
• sturdy bags
• protected copies of essential institutional information
• emergency lists and phone numbers
• specific items required by the institution's activities.

Equipment must remain accessible and be known to those in charge.

It must not be stored in a way that retrieving it would delay evacuation.

The institution must have protected copies and, when possible, secure digital backups of the information essential for its future continuity.

This may include:

The purpose of protecting information in advance is precisely to prevent anyone from trying to retrieve it during the evacuation.

During a disaster there may be power outages, internet interruptions, phone network overload, antenna failures and lost devices. For that reason, the institutional system must have alternatives.

Establish in advance:

During an emergency, short, operational communications must be prioritized.

Rumors and unverified information must not be spread.

The institution must have a procedure that makes it possible to determine who has evacuated, once the safe zone has been reached.

Depending on the characteristics of the establishment, the following may be used:

The necessary lists must be readily accessible for quick transport.

The head count must be carried out at the safe zone, not before leaving the threatened area.

The point must be located outside the threat zone and must be compatible with the official plans. It must have a reasonable capacity for the expected number of people.

All leads must know:

An alternative point must be planned in case the main one is inaccessible.

Institutions responsible for children, adolescents, dependent people, or other groups who will later need to reunite with family members must establish a reunification procedure.

Family members must know in advance:

• Where the institution will evacuate to
• where people will remain
• how information will be provided
• who may retrieve a minor or a dependent person
• what procedure will be followed if telecommunications stop working.

In tsunamis of nearby origin, an earthquake can be the first sign of danger. For that reason, tsunami preparedness must include seismic safety measures.

Before an emergency:

The goal is to prevent people from being injured or trapped before they can begin evacuating.

Institutions that use fuels, chemical products, gases, cleaning substances or other potentially hazardous materials must store them in accordance with the corresponding safety rules.

They must not be placed in a way that could:

During an immediate tsunami threat, no one should delay their evacuation to protect facilities, shut off utilities, or control materials, unless an action can be carried out immediately, safely and without delaying evacuation.

Must verify:

A plan that only works during peak staffing hours is not sufficient.

02

Under adverse weather conditions

Evacuation may take place in the rain, cold, wind, heat or other adverse conditions.

The institution must take into account the usual weather conditions of the region and have, where applicable, light-weight items available that do not hinder evacuation.

Weather conditions must never become a reason to remain inside a zone threatened by a tsunami.

A tsunami can affect:

Institutional preparedness must address both immediate evacuation and essential needs during the first stages after the disaster.

However, supplies intended for the emergency must never become burdens that slow down the evacuation.

Theoretical preparation is not enough. Drills must be held periodically and must reproduce, under safe conditions, the problems that could arise during a real emergency.

They must make it possible to check:

A "15-minute" evacuation target must not be set as a universal rule. The time available depends on the source of the tsunami, the topography, the distance, the routes, and local conditions.

The goal is to reach the safe zone within the evacuation time applicable to the locality, with the greatest possible margin.

Drills should progressively introduce scenarios such as:

The goal is not to make the exercise unnecessarily complicated, but to confirm that the plan still works when one of its components fails.

You should determine:

An outdated plan can stop being effective.

It must be reviewed periodically, and whenever:

• The authorities or those in charge change
• the layout of the establishment is modified
• the number or characteristics of the occupants change
• new activities are added
• the evacuation routes are modified
• the authorities publish new maps

• local alert systems change
• new structures are built
• new accessibility needs are identified
• phone numbers or contacts change
• failures are detected during a drill
• a real emergency occurs that reveals shortcomings.

Every change must be communicated to those with responsibilities under the plan.

Do NOT plan to:

Every institution located in a zone susceptible to a tsunami should be able to answer YES to the following questions:

In a tsunami of nearby origin, there may not be enough time to receive, verify or wait for additional information.

For that reason, every institutional lead must know a simple rule before the emergency:

Protect yourself from the earthquake first.

As soon as you can move safely, begin the evacuation.

Activate the Institutional plan.

Move people away from the sea.

Direct people toward the established safe zone.

Do not wait to see the tsunami.

Do not delay the evacuation to protect property or complete administrative procedures.

Do not go back!

Institutional preparedness against a tsunami does not consist solely of having alarms, signs, first aid kits, or a document called an "emergency plan."

For that reason, every institution, organization, club, church, temple, association, educational establishment, community center, or space that brings people together within a zone susceptible to a tsunami must prepare, review, and practice its plan until the essential functions can be carried out even under pressure, with limited communications, and with the usual leads absent.

Each country uses its own names for tsunami warning levels.

The table below brings together the names used by the official agencies of some countries in the Americas. It is a general reference and does not replace information from the authorities of each locality.