Act on natural warnings
A tsunami may reach a nearby coast before an official message arrives. If you are in a tsunami hazard area, long or strong earthquake shaking, an unusual rapid change in sea level, or a loud ocean roar can be a natural warning.
If the coast gives you a warning
Protect yourself during the earthquake first. When shaking stops, move immediately toward designated high ground or as far inland as local guidance directs. Do not go to the shore to look, take photographs or wait for confirmation.
Local evacuation maps and instructions take priority because terrain, arrival times and safe destinations vary. Learn the guidance for both your home and any coastal place you visit.
Before a tsunami
Preparation should make evacuation simple even when power, mobile service or roads are disrupted.
- Find out whether your home, school or workplace is in a hazard zone.
- Learn at least one signed route to high ground or inland.
- Practice the route on foot and identify alternatives.
- Keep a portable emergency kit ready to carry.
- Plan how household members will reconnect.
- Include children, older adults, pets and accessibility needs.
- Know how local sirens and official alerts operate.
- Store a battery-powered radio and spare batteries.
If you are unfamiliar with an area, look for tsunami evacuation signs and ask local authorities where the hazard zone ends. Do not assume an upper floor is safe unless local plans specifically identify a vertical-evacuation structure.
During earthquake shaking
- Drop, cover and hold on. Protect your head and neck and stay away from windows and objects that may fall.
- Wait for the shaking to stop. Be ready for aftershocks and watch for immediate hazards.
- Begin evacuation promptly. If the shaking was long or strong in a coastal hazard zone, do not delay while collecting possessions.
- Move on foot where practical. Roads may be blocked or congested. Follow signed routes and local instructions.
Stay clear of damaged buildings, bridges, unstable slopes and fallen utility lines. Help others only when it is safe to do so.
During a tsunami watch or warning
When a watch is announced
A watch means an event may affect the identified area, but the danger level is still being evaluated. Review the evacuation plan, locate household members, keep your kit close and monitor official information. Be ready to move quickly if the alert changes.
When a warning is announced
A warning indicates that hazardous coastal flooding and powerful currents are possible, expected or occurring. Leave the hazard zone at once according to local instructions. Take a ready emergency kit and pets if doing so does not delay evacuation.
Go to the designated safe area and remain there. The first wave may not be the largest, and dangerous currents can continue for many hours.
Understanding common alert levels
Names and definitions vary between countries. Use the terminology issued by your local warning center and emergency authority.
Advisory: hazardous currents or waves
Danger may be concentrated in the water, on beaches, and around harbors or marinas. Stay away from the shore and follow closures. Significant widespread inundation may not be expected, but conditions can remain dangerous.
Watch: impact is being evaluated
An event could later affect the watch area. Prepare to act and monitor updates because the watch may be upgraded, changed or canceled.
Warning: inundation may occur
Dangerous flooding and strong currents are possible, expected or under way. Evacuate the hazard zone as instructed and remain in a safe location.
Information statement: event context
An earthquake or distant alert has been assessed and information is being provided. Read the complete official statement because it may report no destructive threat or identify a need for further monitoring.
After a tsunami
- Remain outside the hazard zone until authorities issue an all-clear.
- Expect additional waves and rapidly changing currents.
- Keep away from beaches, river mouths, harbors and flooded roads.
- Use text-based communication when networks are congested.
- Do not enter damaged buildings until they have been assessed.
- Avoid floodwater, debris, damaged utilities and contaminated supplies.
- Continue monitoring official information for route and shelter updates.
Returning after one wave is unsafe. A tsunami is a series of waves, and the interval between them can create a misleading period of calm.
Keep the guidance in context
Earthquake Report provides general preparedness information, not live emergency instructions. Coastal topography, source distance and local infrastructure change the correct response. Follow your local civil-protection authority, tsunami warning center and posted evacuation plan.
Filed under Earthquake Preparedness.