# 7027
Among the millions of United States coastal residents who don’t live in Hawaii or along a Pacific coastline, the threat posed by tsunamis is rarely given much thought.
Yet the Atlantic and Caribbean are hardly immune to large earthquakes, making our Eastern seaboard and the Gulf Coastal regions vulnerable as well.
A list of known or suspected Atlantic Tsunamis, starting off with the Great Lisbon Earthquake of 1755 (see A Look At Europe’s Seismic Risks), includes:
- November 1, 1755 - Lisbon, Portugal
- October 11, 1918 - Puerto Rico
- November 18, 1929 - Newfoundland
- August 4, 1946 - Dominican Republic
- August 18, 1946 - Dominican Republic
- November 14, 1840 - Great Swell on the Delaware River
- November 17, 1872 - Maine
- January 9, 1926 - Maine
- May 19, 1964 - Northeast USA
POSSIBLE TSUNAMI
- June 9, 1913 - Longport, NJ
- August 6, 1923 - Rockaway Park, Queens, NY. An article on triplicate waves."
- August 8, 1924 - Coney Island, NY. Contains a discussion, “An Observed Tsunami Building In Coastal Waters?"
- August 19, 1931 - Atlantic City, NJ
- September 21, 1938 - Hurricane, NJ coast.
- July 3-4, 1992 - Daytona Beach, FL
The last suspected entry – the infamous Daytona Beach `rogue wave’ of 1992 - was described by witnesses as being between 10 and 18 feet tall, slammed onto a 27 mile stretch of Florida Beaches without warning and smashed hundreds of cars, causing as many as 75 (mostly minor) injuries.
Hawaii and the west coast are, of course, at considerably greater risk due to the seismically active `ring of fire’.
Perhaps most vulnerable is the Pacific Northwest, where the Cascadia fault line (see Just A Matter Of Time) is believed to have produced tsunamis in the past that rival the tidal waves that struck Japan two years ago.
All of which helps to explain why the United States government takes the tsunami threat seriously. Tsunamis may not strike often, but when they do, they can be extremely destructive.
From NOAA, we’ve a short (3 minute) video on Tsunamis that explains the threat. Click through to watch on their website:
Courtesy of a tweet from FEMA Director Craig Fugate last summer, I found this fascinating slideshow training presentation on the East Coast Tsunami Threat.
One of the most remarkable slides in this 29 minute presentation shows that while they happen less often than Pacific tsunamis, historically the east coast death toll is almost as great as those from the west coast.
Depending upon the type of precipitating event (seismic activty, landslide, asteroid/meteor impact, etc) and the location, tsunami travel and warning times around the Atlantic will vary from minutes to many hours.
You can access current Tsunami warnings and arrival times at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.
As far as what to do before a tsunami threatens, READY.GOV has a Tsunami Awareness Page with helpful hints.NOAA provides several useful documents, including a Tsunami Zone PDF (see below) and Tsunami Fact Sheet.
Tsunamis, while comparatively rare, are just one of scores of possible disaster scenarios that one can find themselves suddenly thrust into.
When you add in the risks from earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, blizzards, and other – even more common – emergencies, it makes sense to maintain a general level of preparedness against `all threats’.
Everyone needs an appropriate disaster plan, just as everyone should have a good first aid kit, a `bug-out bag’, and sufficient emergency supplies to last a bare minimum of 72 hours.
As the graphic above from NOAA advises, people should consider maintaining a 2-week supply of supplies in their home. A topic I address in When 72 Hours Isn’t Enough.
As we move into the spring severe storm season, and ultimately back into the Atlantic Hurricane season, now is a good time to review and refresh your emergency preparedness plans.
For more on disaster preparedness, I would invite you to visit Ready.gov, FEMA, or revisit these blogs:
In An Emergency, Who Has Your Back?
