American cities vulnerable to tsunamis? Lessons to learn from Chile earthquake, Are American cities vulnerable to tsunamis? Coastal cities like Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco and New York – homes to nearly 15 million – would seem ill prepared to handle the destructive force wrought by a seismic sea wave. The tsunami that hit Sumatra, Indonesia in December 2004, or the one that devastated the east coast of Japan in March 2011 left 250,000 dead and caused $245 billion in damage. How would Honolulu, San Diego or Boston fare?Over one million people were able to evacuate Chile this week after an 8.3 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast Wednesday. Tsunami waves in the coastal town of Coquimbo, close to the epicenter of the quake, were 15-feet high, and the earthquake pushed water displacement as far away as Japan. Yet because of early warnings and training, the casualty count in Chile currently stands at under a dozen people.
Lesson perhaps government officials learned. Five years ago, an 8.8-magnitude temblor hit southern Chile, killing over 500 residents – many of them from the resulting tsunami. The Chilean government failed to issue a tsunami alert, resulting in manslaughter charges against four government officials, as well as protocols in evacuation and advanced emergency warning so that the confusing and contradictory chain of decisions made by officials after the earthquake hit are never repeated.
“The 2010 earthquake provided us with an enormous learning opportunity,” said Helia Vargas, an official at Onemi, Chile’s national emergency service.
Costas Synolakis, the director of the University of Southern California's Tsunami Research Center, said the fact Chile was able to move one million people and only have a few deaths is “phenomenal,” according to NBC News. “It's a positive message for us,” he said. “If the Chileans can evacuate a million people in 15 or 20 minutes, we should be able to do it as well.”
But would American cities be as prepared? While the East Coast could see a tsunami, it’s American cities along the western coastline that are most vulnerable. In the Pacific Ocean, the Ring of Fire – a 25,000-mile horseshoe basin housing 75 percent of the planet's volcanoes – produces 90 percent of the world’s earthquakes.
In August, a study by the American Geophysical Union showed that southern California coastal cities would be hard hit by a magnitude 7 and over earthquake and tsunami scenario – and that wave displacements up to 23 feet high would likely travel twice as far inland as shown in the state’s current inundation map.
“The tsunami rotates and refracts – turns and focuses on the Ventura-Oxnard area,” said Kenny Ryan, of the University of California at Riverside and the study lead author. “That's a really interesting result that we didn't expect.”
This website shows what ten costal cities would look like if sea levels were to rise. While the images are based on climate change, the slide-bar graphics are sobering nonetheless.
There is no federal coastal standard for tsunami warning. Some U.S. cities use the old-fashioned warning – a siren – to alert individuals on the coast and beaches of an incoming tsunami. Others, like Los Angeles County, have opt-in emergency alerts in place that will systemically generate text messages, outcalls and pre-recorded messages warning individuals to flee the coast. But near-field tsunamis – ones with a travel time to a coastline of 30 minutes or less – are the most deadly. Individuals have to be prepared, without their government telling them what to do.
“In Chile, they actually teach in school: If the shaking is strong enough to throw you to the ground, the minute you can get up, run for high ground,” commented Lucy Jones, a USGS seismologist.
The National Weather Service provides TsunamiReady information, designed to assist community leaders and emergency managers to prepare their communities for a tsunami. Videos, signs, logos, brochures and other training are available.
A 2013 study issued by the United States Geological Survey showed that over a quarter million Californians are living in tsunami-inundation zones – areas that would be hard hit in a tsunami impact.
“The most important thing in people preparing themselves for a tsunami is figuring out where the nearest high ground is,” said Kevin Miller from California’s Emergency Management Agency's Earthquake and Tsunami Program. “You should have a disaster preparedness kit ready and conduct a practice evacuation drill so you're comfortable doing it if the time comes.”
While government officials may know where individuals should evacuate to, many residents do not. Nor would tourists – who often go to the coasts for vacation.
“We ask why people in Iowa should get tsunami education,” Synolakis said. “Well, where do they go on vacation? California and Hawaii. Tsunami education should be a national effort, and American cities most vulnerable to tsunamis need better eduction.”
Lesson perhaps government officials learned. Five years ago, an 8.8-magnitude temblor hit southern Chile, killing over 500 residents – many of them from the resulting tsunami. The Chilean government failed to issue a tsunami alert, resulting in manslaughter charges against four government officials, as well as protocols in evacuation and advanced emergency warning so that the confusing and contradictory chain of decisions made by officials after the earthquake hit are never repeated.
“The 2010 earthquake provided us with an enormous learning opportunity,” said Helia Vargas, an official at Onemi, Chile’s national emergency service.
Costas Synolakis, the director of the University of Southern California's Tsunami Research Center, said the fact Chile was able to move one million people and only have a few deaths is “phenomenal,” according to NBC News. “It's a positive message for us,” he said. “If the Chileans can evacuate a million people in 15 or 20 minutes, we should be able to do it as well.”
But would American cities be as prepared? While the East Coast could see a tsunami, it’s American cities along the western coastline that are most vulnerable. In the Pacific Ocean, the Ring of Fire – a 25,000-mile horseshoe basin housing 75 percent of the planet's volcanoes – produces 90 percent of the world’s earthquakes.
In August, a study by the American Geophysical Union showed that southern California coastal cities would be hard hit by a magnitude 7 and over earthquake and tsunami scenario – and that wave displacements up to 23 feet high would likely travel twice as far inland as shown in the state’s current inundation map.
“The tsunami rotates and refracts – turns and focuses on the Ventura-Oxnard area,” said Kenny Ryan, of the University of California at Riverside and the study lead author. “That's a really interesting result that we didn't expect.”
This website shows what ten costal cities would look like if sea levels were to rise. While the images are based on climate change, the slide-bar graphics are sobering nonetheless.
There is no federal coastal standard for tsunami warning. Some U.S. cities use the old-fashioned warning – a siren – to alert individuals on the coast and beaches of an incoming tsunami. Others, like Los Angeles County, have opt-in emergency alerts in place that will systemically generate text messages, outcalls and pre-recorded messages warning individuals to flee the coast. But near-field tsunamis – ones with a travel time to a coastline of 30 minutes or less – are the most deadly. Individuals have to be prepared, without their government telling them what to do.
“In Chile, they actually teach in school: If the shaking is strong enough to throw you to the ground, the minute you can get up, run for high ground,” commented Lucy Jones, a USGS seismologist.
The National Weather Service provides TsunamiReady information, designed to assist community leaders and emergency managers to prepare their communities for a tsunami. Videos, signs, logos, brochures and other training are available.
A 2013 study issued by the United States Geological Survey showed that over a quarter million Californians are living in tsunami-inundation zones – areas that would be hard hit in a tsunami impact.
“The most important thing in people preparing themselves for a tsunami is figuring out where the nearest high ground is,” said Kevin Miller from California’s Emergency Management Agency's Earthquake and Tsunami Program. “You should have a disaster preparedness kit ready and conduct a practice evacuation drill so you're comfortable doing it if the time comes.”
While government officials may know where individuals should evacuate to, many residents do not. Nor would tourists – who often go to the coasts for vacation.
“We ask why people in Iowa should get tsunami education,” Synolakis said. “Well, where do they go on vacation? California and Hawaii. Tsunami education should be a national effort, and American cities most vulnerable to tsunamis need better eduction.”
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