If you guessed that these are all things that you may find along Monterey County’s 99 miles of coastline, you’re right. But amidst the beauty of our coast lies something else - the potential to experience the effects of a tsunami - a “wave or series of waves generated by an earthquake, landslide, volcanic eruption, or even large meteor hitting the ocean.” In fact, California has experienced over 80 observed or recorded tsunamis!
When people think of a tsunami, many expect to see a wave similar to a wind wave but much larger - similar to the giant wind waves in Hawaii and Australia that have made those places world-class surfing destinations. But for most occurrences, including the 2011 tsunami which caused in excess of $20 million dollars of damage to the Moss Landing and Santa Cruz harbors, a tsunami looks more like turbulent water and is virtually undetectable to the eye until it has nearly reached the shore.
These waves are extremely powerful, capable of bringing large amounts of water inland very quickly and causing damage in areas that experience inundation.
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| Tsunami wave striking the upper Santa Cruz Harbor (Photo Credit: Unknown; via California Geological Survey) |
How high is high ground?
The good news is that for most local areas, safety and relief from any water and debris that can come ashore is close by - sometimes as little as just a few blocks away. By taking yourself to approximately 20 feet above sea level, the chances for danger are greatly reduced.
(For tsunami inundation maps, visit the CA Geological Survey Tsunami Inundation Maps page)
How will I know?
The National Tsunami Warning Center (NTWC) in Palmer, AK, is the primary warning center for the California coastline and issues four types of tsunami statements. They include: information statement, watch, advisory, and warning.
As of January 2014, the National Weather Service has a system in place that allows messages to be sent through all wireless devices. These messages are known as Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) and will come automatically to your device(s) as long as the appropriate settings are enabled.
A single (one time) WEA message will be sent only when a Tsunami WARNING is issued and will read:
“Tsunami danger on the coast – go to high ground or move inland. Listen to local news. NWS.”
For tsunami information that is more specific to you & Monterey County, or for other local notifications to residents and businesses in danger of or being impacted by emergency situations like evacuations, weather, power blackouts, law enforcement operations, toxic chemical spills, missing persons, etc., you must register online at the A!ert Monterey County website (alertmontereycounty.org).
The notifications that you receive, how you receive them (landline, cell, VoIP, or email) and what locations you are concerned with (home, work, school, etc.) are selected by you and will not be used for any other purposes.
It is important to remember that while catastrophic events are rare and cannot be prevented, we can all help to diminish adverse impacts through taking steps to prepare and by building a strong community.
For information, visit us ( www.co.monterey.ca.us/oes ; Twitter @MontereyCoOES) and subscribe to our Latest News.
