HONOLULU(KHON2) – It’s now 32 days into the federal government shutdown. People who work at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center are considered essential workers so they have been working without pay.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center alerts the public when there is a tsunami threat.

Dr. Nathan Becker is an oceanographer and a steward for the National Weather Service Employees Organization. He also works at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. He said the tsunami warnings will still go out during the shutdown, but added that completing their mission to protect the public, gets harder with every passing day.

“We’re not going to miss a tsunami, but the quality may be less, impacting more people with a warning. It would take longer to have a cancellation. We may not get a warning…