The Senate Commerce Committee has passed an amended version of the Tsunami Warning, Education, and Research Act of 2015. The measure, which seeks to boost tsunami warning efforts beyond just simple evacuation maps and response plans, would enhance scientific research and lead to better warning technology such as better buoys and sensors.

Sen. Brian Schatz successfully offered an amendment to include research into historic tsunamis like the mega-tsunami that hit Kauai 500 years ago. The quake originated in the Aleutian Islands.

The amendment also authorizes the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to put tsunami sensors on telecommunications cables deep on the ocean floor and authorizes studies on how tsunami currents might affect urban areas where high-rises are clustered and create canyons.

Read Civil Beat’s previous coverage on the efforts to bolster tsunami warning and preparedness here.