Tsunami Inundation Areas

As a follow up to yesterday’s short lived tsunami warning you may have been asking; What are the designated “coastal areas” or low lying areas of concern when there is a tsunami?

In 1964 a magnitude 9.2 earthquake off of Alaska sent a powerful wave, cresting at 21 feet, into Crescent City in the most damaging tsunami in California history. Since then, geologists have put together maps estimating the maximum, worst case flooding taking into account the effect of combined king tides, storm surge and earthquake generated waves. The map for San Mateo county is available through the public, planning, GIS portal at https://gis.smcgov.org/apps/publicviewer/

In “LAYERS” select “HAZARDS” and check the box “Tsunami and Seiche Inundation Areas” to overlay the areas of concern.

You can scroll around and zoom for a better view. Most areas are right on the water, but a couple of low lying areas extend inland. Check it out now and be prepared for the next big earthquake.