Tsunami Ready

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A tsunami is a vast volume of seawater in motion, extending from the surface to the ocean floor. It is a series of long period waves created by an abrupt disturbance that displaces a large amount of water.

• Tsunamis can travel at speeds of up to 600 mph (jet speed) in deep water, and the characteristics of the ocean floor affect them.
• In shallow water, as they approach coastlines, they slow down, bunch up, and can get enormously tall.
• They are more like rivers or walls of flooding water than like waves.

What Should You do if there is a Tsunami Warning?

• If you are at home make sure your entire family is aware. Your family should evacuate your house if you live in a tsunami evacuation zone. Follow the advice of local emergency and law enforcement authorities.
• If you are at the beach or near the ocean move immediately to higher ground.
• Tsunamis generated in distant locations will generally give people enough time to move to higher ground. For locally generate tsunamis, where you might feel the ground shake, you may only have a few minutes to move to higher ground.
• Go to a high, multi-story, reinforced concrete buildings.
• The upper floors can provide a safe place to find refuge should there be a tsunami warning and you cannot move quickly inland to higher ground.
• Homes and small buildings located in low lying coastal areas are not designated to withstand tsunami impacts. Do not stay in these structures should there be a tsunami warning.

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