Hospitality industry updates ‘Tsunami Safe’ education

The hospitality industry in Oregon has an updated tool to help prepare employees, residents and visitors for a tsunami. It is available online at oregontsunami.org along with other resources, including a hazard map viewer to find out what parts of the Oregon Coast are in the Tsunami Inundation Zone.

Oregon Office of Emergency Management Geologic Hazards Program Coordinator Althea Rizzo has helped coordinate the initiate on the Oregon Coast called Hospitality Begins with Safety that is funded by the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program.

“This initiative helps the hospitality industry take care of residents and visitors during a disaster by showing things like what kind of safety measures they need to take and what kind of supplies they need,” Rizzo said. “We developed this module to help the hospitality industry on the Oregon Coast train staff on how to help keep residents and visitors safe if there is a distant or local tsunami on the Oregon Coast.”

The module provides basic information about what a tsunami is, how to be safe during a tsunami, and how to help keep others safe, and Rizzo said you don’t have to be in the hospitality industry to take this education module about tsunami safety.

“It’s really for anyone who is interested in learning a little bit more about tsunamis and how to be safe during tsunamis,” Rizzo added. “When you’re visiting the Oregon Coast, come out and have a good time, but also know a few things about the ocean and how to be safe around the beach.”