Are you prepared for a tsunami?

April is Tsunami Awareness Month in Hawaii, a time to focus on staying prepared and educating our communities so that everyone knows what to do during a tsunami. Since there is no official tsunami season, it’s especially important that we are always ready!

Looking back at last year’s July tsunami warning, I realize how unprepared many of us were. I remember it was chaotic, with people panicking and traffic at a standstill. I didn’t even know if my home or workplace was in an evacuation zone. Fortunately, Hawaii was not severely affected by the tsunami, but it was a great reminder for everyone to stay prepared.

Here are three simple ways you can prepare:

Understanding tsunami alerts
There are four levels of tsunami alerts issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center: warning, advisory, watch, and information statement. It’s important to understand which each alert means because not all alerts mean you should evacuate.

According to the National Weather Service, the levels are:

• Warning: A tsunami warning is issued when a tsunami that may cause widespread flooding is expected or occurring. When a warning is issued, take action immediately! Follow instructions from local officials and evacuate. Either move to high ground, inland, or to the 4th floor or above in a building with 10 or more stories.
• Advisory: A tsunami advisory is issued when a tsunami with the potential to generate strong currents or waves dangerous to those in or near the water is expected or occurring. Stay out of the water and follow instructions from officials.
• Watch: A tsunami watch is issued when a distant earthquake has occurred and a tsunami is possible. Stay alert and be prepared to take action if necessary.
• Information statement: An information statement is issued when an earthquake has occurred or an alert has been issued elsewhere, but there is no threat to Hawaii.

Knowing your evacuation zones
Do you know if your home, school, or workplace is in a tsunami evacuation zone? To better understand if you need to evacuate during a tsunami, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has identified red, yellow, and green zones.

• Red Zone (Tsunami Evacuation Zone): Indicates that you should immediately move inland or to higher ground during a tsunami warning, siren, or alert.
• Yellow Zone (Extreme Tsunami Evacuation Zone): Represents the areas that only need to evacuate during an extreme tsunami warning. If an extreme tsunami warning is issued, quickly evacuate and move inland or to higher ground.
• Green Zone: Represents the safe zones, and evacuation is typically not necessary. If you are in the green zone during a tsunami event, please shelter in place to allow those in red and yellow zones to evacuate more quickly.

Check to see if your home, school, or workplace is in a tsunami evacuation zone at https://tsunami.coast.noaa.gov/.

Prepare an emergency go bag
Having a go bag prepared can make a huge difference not just for tsunamis, but for any emergency. It’s especially crucial for those who live in red and yellow tsunami zones, where quick evacuations may be necessary!

Your go bag should include essentials like:

• Nonperishable food
• Water
• Hand crank radio
• Flashlight or Lantern
• Extra batteries
• First aid kit
• Medicine
• Change of clothes
• Wipes
• Important documents
• Hand sanitizer

Read our Handbook for Emergency Preparedness for a full list of items you should include in your go bag.

If you haven’t already done so, now is the perfect time to start preparing! We can’t control when emergencies happen, but we can control how prepared we are. Even small steps like checking evacuation zones or putting together a go bag can help you act quickly when it matters most. If a tsunami were to ever happen again, I feel relieved knowing that I am better prepared than the last time, and I hope you will be too!

For more information about tsunamis, read page 14–15 of our Handbook for Emergency Preparedness!