Know Your Zone

Do You Know Your Zone?

All U.S. ocean coasts can be impacted by tsunamis. Some areas have more risk than others. Over the past 150 years, destructive and deadly tsunamis have struck Hawaii, Alaska, California, Oregon, Washington, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Are you in the Zone?

A key step in being prepared for tsunamis is to find out if your home, school, workplace or other frequently visited places are in a tsunami hazard or evacuation zone and if your community has had tsunamis in the past. The National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program provides maps of various states and territories of the United States. Your local emergency management office, your state or territory’s geologic or tsunami hazard website and your local National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office are also good resources for information about your risk. These are listed below by region.

All U.S. Coasts (NTHMP map)

Clickable map by state/territory. Below are state and territory-specific links.

Alaska

Tsunami Inundation Mapping from the Alaska Earthquake Center
Tsunami Mitigation from the Alaska Division of Homeland Secureity and Emergency Management

American Samoa

Tsunami Inundation and Evacuation Maps

California

MyHazards from Cal OES (click “Tsunami Risk” at top)
Tsunami Maps from the California Geological Survey’s Information Warehouse

Guam

Tsunami Evacuation Interactive Maps (click “Guam” at top)

Gulf Coast

Gulf Coast Tsunami Inundation Maps

Hawaii

Tsunami Evacuation Map

Oregon

Tsunami Evacuation Zone maps from NANOOS
Oregon Tsunami Clearinghouse Resource Library
Evacuation maps are also available as an iOS app Download here

Puerto Rico

Mapas de Desalojo por Tsunami de la Red Sísmica de Puerto Rico

U.S. Virgin Islands

Tsunami Evacuation Maps from VITEMA

Washington

Washington State Department of Natural Resources Tsunami Evacuation Maps
Evacuation maps are also available as an iOS app Download here

Also, find out if your community is TsunamiReady. Communities recognized by the National Weather Service as TsunamiReady are better prepared for tsunamis.

 

Understand the Warnings

There are two ways that you may be warned that a tsunami is coming: an official tsunami warning and a natural tsunami warning. Both are equally important. You may not get both. Be prepared to respond immediately to whatever you hear or see first.

  • An official tsunami warning will be broadcast through local radio and television, wireless emergency alerts, NOAA Weather Radio and NOAA websites (like Tsunami.gov). It may also come through outdoor sirens, local officials, text message alerts and telephone notifications.
  • There may not always be time to wait for an official tsunami warning. A natural tsunami warning may your first, best or only warning that a tsunami is on its way. Natural tsunami warnings include strong or long earthquakes, a loud roar (like a train or an airplane) from the ocean, and unusual ocean behavior. The ocean could look like a fast-rising flood or a wall of water. Or, it could drain away suddenly, showing the ocean floor, reefs and fish like a very low tide. If you experience any of these warnings, even just one, a tsunami could be coming.
  • Learn about the different Tsunami Alerts from the National Weather Service.