By TsuInfo Alert Staff
The 2026 National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program (NTHMP) Annual Meeting was held in Seattle, Washington, from May 12-13, 2026, with optional tours of Bainbridge Island or Vertical Evacuation Structures of the Washington outer coast focusing on tsunami preparedness May 14. The meeting venue was the NOAA Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle, Washington. The meeting had around 75 in-person and virtual attendees, representing all NTHMP state and territory partners and partnering federal agencies, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
The Annual Meeting kicked off in Seattle with a welcome message from officials from the City of Seattle, King County, and Washington Emergency Management Division (Maximilian Dixon pictured during the Opening Remarks) discussing the area’s unique vulnerability and preparation efforts for tsunami impacts. Washington has over 3,000 miles of coastline susceptible to tsunami impact. The state’s tsunami inundation zones contain more than 175,000 residents and tourists, in addition to vital economic, transportation, and military assets. Because of these threats to the environment, infrastructure, and public safety, the Washington State Emergency Management Division remains committed to strengthening the resilience of all people and property within the state. The 2026 NTHMP Meeting, hosted in Washington, served to underscore the critical need for continued alertness in the face of these persistent dangers.
The NWS Tsunami Team provided an update for the NTHMP about the NWS Reorganization and the NWS Tsunami Unification effort. As the National Weather Service undergoes a reorganization, the National Tsunami Warning Center (NTWC), the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC), and the International Tsunami Information Center (ITIC) are aligning under the Ocean and Tsunami Center (OTC), formerly the Ocean Prediction Center (OPC). The Director of the OTC is AJ Reiss and he is now serving as the NTHMP Chair. The NWS provided updates regarding the new Tsunami.gov, NWS Tsunami GIS service, and a social science study for tsunami alerting.
The Annual Meeting provided an opportunity for individual subcommittees, as well as the work group caucus to conduct regular meeting business as well as update the larger group as to the previous year’s accomplishments and future plans.
The Island Caucus discussed Probabilistic Tsunami Hazard Assessment (PTHA) and Tsunami Sources with experts from California Geological Survey, Puerto Rico Seismic Network, NOAA, USGS, and AECOM. The team also discussed the Nankai Trough as a tsunami source. Each of the islands and territories provided summaries of their work over the past year.
The Island Caucus, the Mitigation and Education Subcommittee (MES), and the State of Washington led a discussion regarding tsunami preparedness and response across the hospitality sector, including public venues and ports to provide a more comprehensive picture for tsunami outreach, education, and preparedness as well as industry coordination and response challenges.
The Mapping and Modeling Subcommittee (MMS) is focusing on Digital Elevation Modeling with NCEI as well as planning for the 2028 Benchmarking Workshop. Chip Guard opened the discussion on the potential to improve tsunami recurrent estimates through paleo-tsunami studies.
The Mitigation and Education Subcommittee (MES) reviewed state and territory progress, including the Caribe-Wave and PACIFEX exercises, evacuation walks, and new signage. Key updates featured East Coast awareness efforts, Alaska’s review of 2025 tsunami alerts, and California’s use of Virtual Reality for readiness training.
The Warning Coordination Subcommittee (WCS) welcomed a new co-chair, Dr. Nathan Becker, of the PTWC, reviewed some of the activities in their workplan following the US Tsunami Reporting Analysis that was finalized this spring. The group divided the analysis into coverage, capability, and content areas and potential next steps over the coming year and beyond. The WCS also plans to hold at least one opportunity for NWSChat training within the next year for those with account access.
At the conclusion of Day 2, the Coordinating Committee (CC) convened to establish priorities for 2027 and future support and performed a review of subcommittee and work group work plans. Additionally, the committee authorized the formation of a Tiger Team tasked with updating the formal Rules of Procedure to better align with the program’s evolving operational and organizational landscape. A primary focus of the meeting involved developing a long-term schedule for meeting sites and frequency. This strategy aims to improve the planning process for the annual “Summer” meeting and include the reinstatement of the “Winter Meeting” for the coming years. Furthermore, the committee explored ways to strengthen ties between the NTHMP and the NWS Tsunami Unification initiative to foster greater collaboration and partner awareness. Finally, the CC welcomed Phillip Labra from California, who joined the committee following Yvette LaDuke’s retirement.
The final day of the meeting presented two opportunities to experience the work Washington has done for tsunami hazard mitigation and preparedness. Half of the group (top image) took the Ferry to visit Bainbridge Island on Washington’s inner coast to view geologic features formed by the last Seattle Fault earthquake and learn about tsunami mitigation efforts by the City of Bainbridge Island. The other half of the group (bottom picture) conducted a visit to Washington’s outer Pacific Coast to tour the vertical evacuation structures (VES) in Westport (Ocosta Elementary) and Tokeland (Auntie Lee Tower) and meet with the team working on the City of Westport VES project.
A special thank you must go to the team at Washington EMD as well as the Washington Department of Natural Resources for facilitating these opportunities and for the outstanding work done in developing relationships with these dedicated partners in tsunami preparedness.
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