Reference · built on requestCommons signalEarth, seismic & volcanic

NOAA Tsunami Warning Centers

Tsunami warnings, advisories, watches, and information statements as Atom and CAP 1.2 feeds from the US Tsunami Warning Centers.

Request accessPricing ↗

About

The National Weather Service runs two tsunami warning centers. The National Tsunami Warning Center in Palmer, Alaska serves Alaska, British Columbia, the US West Coast, the US Atlantic, the Gulf coast, and Canada. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Honolulu serves Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and non-US Pacific and Caribbean regions. Each center publishes an Atom feed and a CAP 1.2 feed at tsunami.gov, with entries linking to the CAP document and the bulletin text.

Through Fibric, an operator reads the CAP event, severity, and area for each message and proposes a roster check, a dock hold, or a tenant notice for your approval.

This is a reference listing. It documents what Fibric would read from NOAA Tsunami Warning Centers and what it could propose, based on the publisher's published interfaces. Fibric builds it under a managed deployment when you request it; selecting it here installs nothing.

Inputs

  • NTWC messages through /events/xml/PAAQAtom.xml and /events/xml/PAAQCAP.xml
  • PTWC messages through /events/xml/PHEBAtom.xml and /events/xml/PHEBCAP.xml
  • Per Atom entry: a title naming the epicentre area, summary, updated, geo latitude and longitude, and links to the CAP XML and bulletin text
  • Per CAP 1.2 alert: identifier, sender, sent, status, msgType, scope, event, urgency, severity, certainty, expires, headline, description, and instruction
  • CAP parameters EventLocationName, EventPreliminaryMagnitude, EventDepth, EventLatLon, and EventOriginTime, plus a circle area
  • Message types: Tsunami Warning, Tsunami Advisory, Tsunami Watch, Tsunami Information Statement, and PTWC Tsunami Threat Messages for international systems

Proposed actions

Read-only. This feed informs operators; it changes nothing.

Proposed actions are target capabilities. Every action runs propose-first and needs a validated deployment and the appropriate permissions.

What you can build

  • Confirm every coastal worker is accounted for

    On a Tsunami Warning or Advisory for a site's area, the operator proposes a roster check for that site and tracks replies. A cancellation closes the check with a record.

    With Evacuation Roster

  • Hold dock work during a warning

    A Warning or Advisory covering a dock's coast becomes a proposed hold on scheduled loads and moves until the message is cancelled. You approve; the CAP identifier is kept.

    With Dock Schedule

  • Tell tenants what to do

    The CAP instruction text is drafted into a tenant notice for a property in the area. Nothing goes out until you approve, and an Information Statement produces no draft.

    With Shutdown Notice

  • Log the event even when no tsunami is expected

    Information Statements say an earthquake occurred and no tsunami is expected. The operator proposes an annotation on the affected sites so a later question has an answer.

    With Change Annotation

Requirements

  • A polling schedule for both centers' feeds; tsunami.gov documents no push delivery for the XML files
  • Coastal site coordinates and the NWS zones you care about, to match CAP areas and UGC-coded segmented products
  • A rule for what to do per message type, since a Watch, an Advisory, and a Warning call for different responses
Authentication
None. The Atom and CAP files are public resources on tsunami.gov and need no key.

Limits

  • The Atom feeds carry the current message; the pages do not say how long entries stay, so keep your own history
  • Messages may be upgraded, downgraded, adjusted geographically, or cancelled; the latest message for an event is the one that counts
  • Products are described by WMO header and AWIPS ID; the segmented forms carry UGC and VTEC codes that need decoding
  • The centers cover US and Canadian coasts and Pacific and Caribbean systems; other oceans have other warning providers

Access and pricing

Reference listing. Public feed access is separate from Fibric integration. If you request this feed, your quote covers the build, usage, and support.

Request NOAA Tsunami Warning Centers ↗

Questions and answers

What do the message types mean?
A Warning: a tsunami with the potential for widespread inundation is imminent, expected, or occurring. An Advisory: strong currents or waves dangerous to those in or near the water. A Watch: a tsunami may later impact the area. An Information Statement: an earthquake or tsunami of interest has occurred.
Which center covers my coast?
NTWC covers Alaska, British Columbia, the US West Coast, the US Atlantic, the Gulf coast, and Canada. PTWC covers Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and non-US Pacific and Caribbean systems. Each has its own Atom and CAP files.
Are the feeds free to use?
Yes. Information on NWS web pages is in the public domain unless noted and may be used without charge for any lawful purpose. You may not present it as your own or use the NWS name to imply endorsement.
Ask about NOAA Tsunami Warning Centers

Ask about the capabilities and requirements in this listing.

For project-specific requirements, contact Fibric.

This Commons signal listing is developed, published, and supported by Fibric. It reads public data published by NOAA National Weather Service, National and Pacific Tsunami Warning Centers (tsunami.gov). Upstream agencies and projects are the property of their respective owners, who are not affiliated with Fibric and do not sponsor or endorse this listing. Trademark policy