Is California at risk of tsunami flooding? Check out these maps

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California’s coastal regions are clearly at the highest risk of tsunami attack. But how far inland does that threat extend?

The answer may surprise you. Tsunami hazard areas can be very large in some places, and in some cases have large numbers of people living in them.

Vast areas of Venice and all of Marina del Rey are in tsunami danger zones. So is a wide area of Long Beach, including Belmont Shore, Naples Island, and the city’s convention center.

Significant areas of Orange County are also at risk. This includes Newport Beach’s Balboa Island and Balboa Peninsula, as well as the nearby areas of Sunset Beach and Seal Beach.

Even if the tsunami danger zone is relatively small, many Californians may not have the instinct to move to higher ground after the ground shakes.

Although Malibu Village Mall is separated from the coast by two rows of houses, a golf course, and the Pacific Coast Highway, it remains at risk due to its proximity to the Malibu Lagoon as well as the ocean.

And the risks vary. Manhattan Beach’s tsunami hazard zone is essentially limited to the shoreline beaches and piers of the Strand, a walking and biking path that separates luxury homes from the sand. But in Hermosa Beach, an expensive home about a block east of the trail is also in the tsunami hazard zone.

Traveling to SeaWorld in San Diego? The theme park is outside the danger zone, but some hotels and resorts to the west and north are. Why not check out San Francisco’s Ferry Building? No need to escape the city. You only have to walk a few blocks inland to reach safety.

And not all tsunamis flood the entire danger zone. For example, if a tsunami is more than four hours away, authorities may be able to issue detailed orders limiting the extent of evacuation areas. However, if a tsunami arrives in a short period of time, authorities may decide to simply evacuate the entire area as a precaution.

According to the California Geological Survey, tsunami hazard areas represent areas of maximum flooding under several extreme and realistic scenarios.

If you are on higher ground or inland from the zone, you should be safe from the tsunami. That’s why officials say it’s important to know if you live, work or play in a danger zone. Experts recommend knowing how to evacuate and where you need to go.

But if you don’t have advance knowledge of whether you’re in a tsunami zone and don’t have access to maps or evacuation signs, officials say you should aim for a spot 100 feet above sea level and two miles inland if possible. . .

Given geography, density, and access, some areas may be particularly difficult to evacuate in the event of an earthquake-induced tsunami.

“There are places on the U.S. West Coast and here in Alaska that require complete safe evacuation due to coastal events… [have] The success rate is much lower,” said Dave Snyder, tsunami warning coordinator for Alaska’s National Tsunami Warning Center. “This is the number one reason people need to understand in advance what their danger zones are.”

Examples of areas where evacuation is difficult include the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach. But in Laguna Beach, prior knowledge of the tsunami hazard zone indicates it is relatively small, and walking just a few blocks away can make a difference.

Although rare, in some places a tsunami can arrive minutes after the ground shakes. Snyder said last week’s tsunami warning, issued in response to a magnitude 7.0 earthquake 30 miles off the coast of Humboldt County, is a good reminder that this type of event is a real concern.

“You have now experienced a grave warning. This may never happen to you again,” Snyder said. “But just in case that happens…ask yourself if you had an alert when you needed it.”

People who were ordered to leave during last week’s widespread warning should use that experience to evaluate whether their evacuation plans worked and whether they need to be changed, Snyder said. . He added that people living in high-risk areas should also ideally have a carry-on bag.

Below is a map showing some of the most populated areas of Southern and Central California that are within tsunami hazard zones, as determined by the California Geological Survey. Yellow areas indicate tsunami danger areas.