Most of us in the Bay Area have been drilled on earthquake and fire safety but when was the last time you got to worry about a series of ‘powerful, fast-moving waves’ that will flood your house and ruin the carpet your landlord inexplicable installed?

New California Tsunami Zone Maps

conservation.ca.gov/cgs/tsunami/maps

There’s good news!  The California Geological Survey released NEW UPDATED Tsunami maps of the CA coastline, so we can see in greater detail whose house will be underwater when big wave finally gets here.  You can even search your own address if it’s in the urine colored ‘Tsunami zone’.

It’s safe to say that most of SF’s coastline including the Wharf, the Outer Sunset, Marina, through SOMA, Dog Patch and Hunter’s Point are all in the yellow.

For example we searched for the Giants stadium at: 24 Willie Mays Plaza, San Francisco, CA 94107.  And as you can see the stadium designers must not have seen these updated tsunami maps because the Giants will be completely covered in pee colored water.

Giants stadium oh no!

The tsunami people stipulate that the danger areas reflect a ‘worst-case scenario’, “a tsunami resulting from a magnitude 9.3 earthquake in the eastern Aleutian Islands off of Alaska, the location that presents the greatest risk of such destructive waves hitting Central California. Such an event would be extremely rare — and would take five hours to reach the Bay Area, so there would be time to warn people to get to safety, said Rick Wilson, senior engineering geologist at the California Geological Survey, part of the state Department of Conservation.”

SF Marina/Wharf

As you can see the tsunami wave unfortunately would not reach Bar None.

All of West Oakland would be submerged as well.

Oakland Tsunami Zone

The water surge would reach surprisingly far in Oakland, drowning even the Coliseum in yellow water, as if another pipe burst at the stadium.

The Oakland Coliseum, finally in 100%  A’s colors.

Even a tsunami with just a peak wave height of 2-3 feet can flood coastal communities, impact harbor traffic and infrastructure, and cause other damage and casualties. Most are generated by large, offshore earthquakes, but landslides, volcanic eruptions, and even meteorite crashes can cause tsunamis too. If the source is distant, you may have hours before waves arrive; if nearby, just a matter of mere minutes.

California’s large active offshore faults and unstable submarine slopes can cause tsunami activity along the coast. Strong ground shaking from an earthquake is the natural warning that a tsunami might be coming. If you are on the beach or in a harbor and feel an earthquake, immediately move inland or go to high ground. If strong shaking lasts for 20 seconds or more, everyone within the tsunami evacuation area should evacuate as soon as it is safe to do so.

So, have a plan (most plans will involve putting your cat in a suitcase and walking uphill for a couple minutes). But don’t take our word for it, there’s a lot more information out there!:

Tsunami preparedness guidelines: https://www.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/tsunami/preparedness

Find your own  address on the map and prepare accordingly: https://www.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/tsunami/maps