Tsunami Preparedness Brochure for Recreational and Commercial Boaters.
Anniversary of the March 11, 2011 Tohoku-oki Earthquake and Tsunami. Click here to learn more.
The California Geological Survey (CGS) provides geologic and seismic expertise to the public, other State government offices, such as the California Emergency Management Agency (CalEMA; formally known as the Governor's Office of Emergency Services), and local government agencies (cities and counties). For tsunami hazards, CGS is working closely with CalEMA and the Tsunami Research Center at the University of Southern California to produce statewide tsunami inundation maps and preparedness information for California. CGS is also the Scientific Representative for California on the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program Coordinating Committee, a state and federal cooperative responsible for developing policies and standards for tsunami mitigation efforts in the United States and its territories.
CGS is also the Scientific Representative for California on the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program Coordinating Committee, a state and federal cooperative responsible for developing policies and standards for tsunami mitigation efforts in the United States and its territories.
The Science Application for Risk Reduction (SAFFR) tsunami scenario describing impact on California from a magnitude 9 earthquake off Alaska may be linked to here.
CGS Special Report 236
CGS SPECIAL REPORT 236: California’s experience during 2010 Chile and 2011 Japan tsunamis has brought to light the desire by coastal emergency managers and decision makers to obtain more detailed information on the estimated impact and hazard of the tsunami well ahead of its arrival time. The main issue is that existing tsunami evacuation plans call for evacuation of the predetermined “worst-case” tsunami evacuation zone (typically at a 30- to 50-foot elevation) during a “Warning” level event; the alternative is to not call an evacuation at all. To provide more detailed information for secondary evacuation zones, CGS and the California Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) are developing tsunami evacuation “playbooks” to plan for tsunami scenarios of various sizes and source locations. CGS Special Report 236 includes a summary of how these products are being developed as well as guidance on how communities should implement them during an emergency. Please note that evacuation planning and emergency response for future tsunamis is the responsibility of each community, and these playbook products are intended as internal emergency response planning tools for community emergency managers. Click here for the report.
Tsunami Maps and Posters
Tsunami Educational Documents and Related Information
If you have any questions or comments about the CGS tsunami webpage, please email firstname.lastname@example.org