An early morning shock for hundreds of Port Alberni families who heard the Tsunami siren – sending them to higher ground at 3 o’clock this morning.
A 7.9 magnitude earthquake near Anchorage Alaska sparked the Tsunami Warning at 2 am, with fears an event similar to the tsunami of 1964 could hit around 4:40 a.m, but the emergency was officially cancelled at 4:30 by Mayor Mike Ruttan
The district Emergency Operations Center opened immediately after the tsunami warning was issued, co-ordinating police, fire, ambulance and rescue crews as well as public works and city staff.
Echo Center was opened to serve as an emergency response center but thankfully wasn’t needed.
Emergency Operations Director Doug Holmes was pleased about how everyone worked together to safely evacuate low-lying areas.
Holmes said he’ll debrief with crews later today, and suggest people evaluate their own personal emergency plans with lessons learned from this morning.