Where is tsunami heading

It stops you being knocked over, makes you a smaller target for falling and flying objects and protects your head, neck and vital organs.

If there is no shelter near you crawl to an inside corner of the room and cover your head and neck with your hands and arms. It is safer to Drop, Cover, and Hold until the shaking is over. A tsunami is a series of waves caused by large earthquakes. A tsunami wave can grow to become a fast moving wall of water. Move immediately to the nearest high ground, or as far inland as you can. The water along the coast may recede noticeably. When the tsunami hits, it may come ashore like a fast rising flood and strike with devastating force.

The series of waves may continue for hours. The first one may not be the last or the largest. To provide the earliest possible alert, initial warnings are normally based only on seismic information. Tsunami Advisory - A tsunami advisory is issued when a tsunami with the potential to generate strong currents or waves dangerous to those in or very near the water is imminent, expected, or occurring. The threat may continue for several hours after initial arrival, but significant inundation is not expected for areas under an advisory.

Appropriate actions to be taken by local officials may include closing beaches, evacuating harbors and marinas, and the repositioning of ships to deep waters when there is time to safely do so. Tsunami Watch - A tsunami watch is issued to alert emergency management officials and the public of an event which may later impact the watch area.

The watch area may be upgraded to a warning or advisory - or canceled - based on updated information and analysis. Executive SummaryPuerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are located at an active plate boundary between the North American plate and the northeast corner of the Caribbean plate.

The region was subject in historical times to large magnitude earthquakes and devastating tsunamis. A major downward tilt of the sea floor north of Puerto Rico and the Virgin USGS science provides part of the foundation for emergency preparedness whenever and wherever disaster strikes.

Recent geological studies of a key section of the Aleutian Island chain of Alaska suggest Aleutian tsunamis may occur more frequently than previously understood. Minutes after the magnitude The images of destruction coming from Japan have caused those who dwell on America's West Coast to wonder: Could a devastating tsunami hit here?

The answer is a resounding yes. Our coast is under threat from two types of tsunamis. Map of coastal communities in a tsunami-hazard zone in the state of Washington. Animation of what a potential tsunami would look like generated from a large and hypothetical magnitude 9 subduction earthquake in the U. Pacific Northwest. The height of the tsunami waves is exaggerated compared to the land surface. Tsunami Preparedness explains how and why tsunamis occur, how to know that a tsunami is approaching, and what you should do.

These issues are addressed by scientists, emergency managers, and first responders. By Eric L. Geist, geophysicist, Bruce E. Jaffe, oceanographer, and Brian F. Atwater, geologist. Skip to main content. Search Search. Natural Hazards. Large tsunamis have occurred in the United States and will undoubtedly occur again. Learn more : Can it Happen Here? Tsunamis and Tsunami Hazards. Apply Filter. How do landslides cause tsunamis? Tsunamis are large, potentially deadly and destructive sea waves, most of which are formed as a result of submarine earthquakes.

They can also result from the eruption or collapse of island or coastal volcanoes and from giant landslides on marine margins. These landslides, in turn, are often triggered by earthquakes. Tsunamis can be generated on What is it about an earthquake that causes a tsunami?