The irony is too obvious: NOAA plans to build its new Pacific Regional Center on Ford Island in the middle of Pearl Harbor. The center will consolidate offices, including the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, that are scattered throughout the island of Oahu.

So, you ask, have they thought about the risk of tsunamis?

In detail. A new study [pdf] finds the proposed location is above the worst tsunami the experts figure could occur.

“The study shows that none of the historic tsunamis, nor any of the 18 modeled scenario events—based on magnitude 9.3 earthquakes—caused inundation at the proposed location of the NOAA facility,” said Eddie Bernard, director of the NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Lab, which operates the research center. “The models indicate that the greatest rise in water levels at Ford Island would be less than five feet above mean high water level. The NOAA building site is located at 10 feet above mean high water level.”

I guess if they’re not nervous, we shouldn’t be.