CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — An earthquake struck the Nansei Shoto region, or Ryukyu island chain, Wednesday afternoon, sending an estimated 6½-foot tall tsunami toward Okinawa. Officials expected the wave to hit the island at approximately 3:20 p.m.

Luckily for island residents, the warning was followed by: “If this had been an actual warning, an evacuation would be directed for all tsunami-vulnerable areas. Exercise. Exercise. Exercise.”

Two tsunami exercises were held here last week, according to Marine Maj. Tim Barrick, Marine Corps Bases Japan plans and exercise officer. Barrick said the first exercise, held Tuesday, didn’t go as planned, so a second was held to work out the kinks.

The exercise, Barrick said, is an annual requirement, but in light of December’s tsunamis in South Asia, more emphasis was put on this year’s event.

Barrick said the exercise had three purposes: to evaluate the communication aspect, review each installation’s tsunami procedure checklist and raise public awareness.

The exercise focused on how the word would get out in the event of a tsunami. E-mail messages were to be sent and cable television and American Forces Network radio was to broadcast warnings.

“We weren’t happy with the speed the message got out at and the audience it hit” in the first try at the exercise, Barrick said. “We then implemented things to hit a wider audience.”

If a tsunami were to hit, Barrick said, each military installation on Okinawa would react differently.

“Installation commanders locally have their own procedures,” he said. “They know which areas are vulnerable and where people should evacuate to.”

Those evacuation plans, Barrick said, basically tell people to get to higher ground, which is “why it’s so important to get the warning out fast.” He estimated a warning could spread throughout all installations in 10 to 15 minutes.

“Overall, the exercise went well,” Barrick said. “We improved our process and we’re now prepared. I’m confident now that if we got a warning, we could get the word out.”