It’s not for real, but it’s an important drill coming at 9 a.m. eastern time Thursday, April 2. Residents and visitors along the Atlantic coasts of the US and Canada, the Gulf of Mexico, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands will hear tsunami test messages broadcast over their TVs and radios at that time.

This test of communication and response plans is the first region-wide tsunami warning exercise of its kind. It is being co-sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the US National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program.

NOAA’s Tsunami Warning Center in Palmer, AK, will commence the exercise by issuing a test bulletin through tsunami warning communication channels. Marked “test message”, the test bulletin will prompt local officials to implement their tsunami response plans.

The US expanded its tsunami warning system and preparedness activities following the catastrophic tsunami that killed 230,000 people in Asia on Dec. 26, 2004.

Read the full story here:  http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2009/20090323_atlanticgulftsunamitest.html

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