NOAA funding cut raises concerns over future tsunami alert accuracy

WASHINGTON — Funding has been canceled by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is expected to impact real-time tsunami alerts.

According to experts, a $300,000 contract was cancelled by NOAA. Those funds were intended to be for the University of Alaska Fairbanks's Alaska Earthquake Center.

According to NOAA, this cut is not entirely new.

According to a statement from NOAA, "NOAA ceased funding the grant to UAF’s Alaska Earthquake Center in FY24. While UAF initially continued to provide baseline seismic data to support tsunami warning capabilities for the NOAA National Tsunami Warning Center, AEC has since made the decision to turn off the real-time dataflow to the Center. The AEC is one of many partners supporting the National Weather Service's tsunami operations,