Two new tsunami program coordinators have been named at the Washington State Emergency Management Division.

According to the state Department of Natural Resources, Elyssa Tappero has taken over for Keily Yemm as Tsunami Program Coordinator at the Washington Emergency Management Division. Her work focuses on mitigating the impact of Washington’s tsunami hazards through public education, community response planning, accurate hazard assessment, and an informed warning process.

Through an annual National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/National Weather Service Tsunami Activity grant, Tappero coordinates a wide variety of projects that include AHAB siren maintenance, tsunami inundation and evacuation modeling and mapping, support for TsunamiReady community status, and development of vertical evacuation structure best practices.

Prior to her time with the Emergency Management Division, Tappero provided disaster preparedness training through The American Red Cross and other forms of public education through the King County Housing Authority, as well as federal grant management with The Geneva Foundation. She has a bachelor’s degree in Geoscience from Pacific Lutheran University.

Jacob Witcraft is filling a new Tsunami Program Coordinator position made possible through grant funding from the National Weather Service. His work will focus on the mitigation of tsunami impacts along the inner coast of Washington State in the Puget Sound region. He will also be working on developing a Maritime Response and Mitigation Strategy for the Port of Bellingham, as well as assisting in public education of tsunami hazards.

Previously, Witcraft spent 14 years on the Big Island of Hawaii working for the Division of Forestry and Wildlife. He also was a first responder on wildfire incidents and served on the Incident Management Team during the 2018 Kilauea volcanic eruption. He earned a bachelor’s degree in the Human Dimensions of Natural Resources from Oregon State University.