Seismic & Tsunami Operations Workshops

Strengthening Alaska’s coastal preparedness, response, and resilience

The Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management supports regional Seismic & Tsunami Operations Workshops (STOW) to help Alaska communities better prepare for earthquakes, tsunamis, and related geologic hazards. These workshops bring together local emergency managers, tribal representatives, public safety partners, state and federal agencies, scientists, and community leaders for practical, operations-focused training and discussion.

STOW events are designed to connect science, emergency management, and local knowledge. Each workshop focuses on a specific region of Alaska and is tailored to the hazards, geography, response challenges, and community needs of that area.

What is STOW?

The Seismic & Tsunami Operations Workshop is a regional preparedness workshop focused on improving community readiness for earthquakes, tsunamis, and other coastal hazards.

Workshops may include presentations, facilitated discussions, planning sessions, and practical exercises on topics such as:

• Earthquake and tsunami hazards
• Tsunami warning and alerting processes
• Community evacuation planning
• Emergency operations and call-down procedures
• TsunamiReady preparedness
• Harbor, maritime, and port considerations
• Sheltering, mass care, and public health considerations
• Individual Assistance and Public Assistance programs
• Hazard mitigation and resilience funding
• Small Community Emergency Response Plans
• Local lessons learned from real-world events

Who should attend?

STOW is intended for community and regional partners involved in preparedness, response, recovery, mitigation, and public safety.

Typical participants include:

• Local emergency managers
• Tribal governments and tribal emergency coordinators
• City and borough officials
• Fire, EMS, and law enforcement personnel
• Port and harbor representatives
• Public works staff
• Public health and healthcare partners
• School and university emergency planners
• Nonprofit and voluntary agency partners
• State and federal agency partners
• Community leaders involved in disaster preparedness

Workshop Goals

Each STOW is designed to help communities and partners:

• Better understand local earthquake and tsunami risk
• Strengthen emergency coordination before, during, and after an event
• Improve warning dissemination and call-down procedures
• Identify gaps in evacuation, sheltering, communications, and response planning
• Build relationships between local, regional, state, federal, and tribal partners
• Support long-term mitigation, preparedness, and resilience efforts

Regional Workshop Format

STOW workshops are held in different regions of Alaska to ensure content is relevant to local hazards and community needs. The agenda may vary by region, but workshops generally combine technical hazard information with practical emergency management and response planning.

Common workshop components include:

Hazard Overview

Scientific and operational presentations on regional earthquake, tsunami, volcano, landslide, and coastal hazards.

Warning and Response Operations

Discussion of how alerts, warnings, notifications, and operational coordination occur during real-world events.

Community Preparedness

Planning sessions focused on evacuation, sheltering, public messaging, continuity, and local response capability.

Partner Coordination

Opportunities for communities to connect with state, federal, tribal, nonprofit, public health, maritime, and public safety partners.

Planning and Exercises

Facilitated discussions, tabletop exercises, or community planning activities designed to turn workshop information into practical next steps.

Funding and Program Support

STOW activities are supported through Alaska’s ongoing work with national hazard mitigation and preparedness programs, including the:

• National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program (NTHMP)
• National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP)

These programs support efforts to improve public awareness, reduce risk, strengthen warning systems, and increase community resilience to earthquake and tsunami hazards.

Upcoming Workshops

Upcoming STOW dates, locations, registration information, and community participation details will be posted here as they become available.

Upcoming regional workshops may focus on:

• Southcentral Alaska
• Bristol Bay region
• Aleutian Islands region
• Other coastal and seismic hazard-prone areas of Alaska

For questions about upcoming workshops or regional participation, please contact the DHS&EM Geologic Hazards Program.

Past Workshops

DHS&EM has supported regional seismic and tsunami preparedness workshops across Alaska. Past workshops have included events focused on communities in areas such as:

• Kodiak region
• Seward / Kenai Peninsula region
• Southeast Alaska
• Other coastal communities and regions

These workshops help build continuity across Alaska’s coastal preparedness efforts while allowing each event to reflect the unique needs of the host region.

Presenting or Partnering

DHS&EM welcomes participation from agencies, organizations, and community partners with relevant experience in geologic hazards, emergency management, public safety, coastal response, public health, mitigation, recovery, or community resilience.

Potential presenters or partners may include:

• Local emergency management programs
• Tribal organizations
• National Weather Service
• National Tsunami Warning Center
• Alaska Earthquake Center
• Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys
• Alaska Volcano Observatory
• U.S. Coast Guard
• Public health and healthcare partners
• Red Cross and voluntary organizations
• State and federal response and recovery agencies

Organizations interested in presenting, partnering, or supporting a future workshop are encouraged to contact DHS&EM.

Contact

Mike Lucio

DHS&EM Geologic Hazards Program
Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management
Email: michael.lucio@alaska.gov
Phone: 907-428-7046
Website: ready.alaska.gov