Are You in the Zone? It's Tsunami Preparedness Week in California!

"While the level of tsunami hazard varies along California's coastline and according to what kind of event we're expecting, everyone can prepare to survive and recover for all the tsunamis in our future. Start today by joining us in California's Tsunami Preparedness Week and visiting TsunamiZone.org for all the ways you can participate," says Kevin Miller, the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services Tsunami Program Officer.

We as the Earthquake Country Alliance are proud to support California's Tsunami Preparedness Week. While we always recommend people follow the Seven Steps to Earthquake Safety to get fully prepared to survive and recover from the next damaging earthquake, much of how one might prepare for an earthquake can be applied to other hazards. Here are some special considerations for tsunami:

• Learn about your zone and the type of tsunami inundation (flooding levels) you could potentially experience, down to the zip code level: TsunamiZone.org/knowyourzone.
• If you do not know your danger and safe zones, the general recommendation is to go 2 miles inland or 100 feet up in a sturdy structure or up a hill, by foot or bike (do not drive) in the event a tsunami is imminent. Learn more: TsunamiZone.org/resources.
• Most tsunamis are caused by big undersea earthquakes that displace huge volumes of water, either far away from us or right offshore. Nature's warning signs are that if you feel shaking at the beach, see the ocean unusually fall or rise, or hear a loud roar or all the sand/rocks "bubbling", assume a tsunami is on its way – you may only have minutes.
• Consider a NOAA Weather Radio which will help make sure you get alerts as soon as possible directly from our nation's tsunami warning centers (tsunami.gov). You can also learn how to sign up for text alerts via SMS through the tsunami warning centers' Twitter accounts (@NWS_PTWC and @NWS_NTWC).

KEY MEDIA RESOURCES:

TsunamiZone.org/news – news items such as stories, advisories, and press releases, as well as the events calendar, helpful to the public and/or media.

CONTACT:

Jason Ballmann 
Southern California Earthquake Center
213.740.1560
[email protected]

TsunamiZone.org, is managed by the Southern California Earthquake Center SCEC at the University of Southern California USC, with funding from the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program prioritized by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA and the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services Cal OES.

SOURCE Earthquake Country Alliance