City Lauds Community Effort – March 11, 2011

Friday, March 11, 2011

ARCATA RESIDENTS RESPOND WELL TO TSUNAMI THREAT

ARCATA – On March 11, 2011 in the early morning hours, staff from the City of Arcata including police, public works and environmental services, evacuated several hundred residents within the tsunami inundation zones in the city.

City staff was assisted by Humboldt State University Police Officers and Arcata Fire District Firefighters in the evacuation of the residential areas south of Samoa Boulevard, which included several apartment complexes and a senior residential complex.  The city opened the D Street Neighborhood Center as an evacuation point for those residents temporarily displaced from their homes.

Arcata Police Chief Tom Chapman said, “I would like to express my deep appreciation to the citizens of Arcata who reacted quickly and seriously to the tsunami threat.  The public’s response made the difficult job for city workers and public safety personnel more manageable.”

In addition to evacuations and street closures, city personnel worked to move heavy equipment to staging areas in the event significant damaged occurred. Arcata officials activated their Emergency Operations Center in conjunction with the Humboldt County EOC.
This event serves as a serious reminder of the dangers associated with the tsunami threat along the North Coast. All citizens should research and be prepared for tsunami and other natural disaster events. Disaster preparedness information can be obtained at www.redcross.org or at www.arcatapd.org.

 

 

 

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