- Protect yourself if it is accompanied by an earthquake.
- Immediately head inland and to higher ground (at least 60' above sea level) if you experience an earthquake that lasts a minute or more, you are on the beach and the tide suddenly goes way out, or you see a wall of water rushing toward you. If you can’t get inland and up, go up.
- Know whether you are in a tsunami hazard zone or not.
- Know where the nearest tsunami escape route is.
- Have already put together portable emergency survival kits for you
and your family.
- Have an emergency radio that automatically turns on in the event of
a hazard warning.
- Assemble your family and walk or bicycle to the nearest tsunami.safety zone (unless someone with you is mobility impaired).
- Wait for an official announcement that the danger has passed before returning home or to the beach.
- Have emergency supplies set in at home, since it might take days or weeks for electricity, food, water, and protective services to be restored.
- Rush to the beach to see the big wave.
- Rush to the beach after the first wave to see what has washed up on shore. (A tsunami may include several waves arriving over a period of hours.)
- Hop in your car to get to higher ground. (Roads may be impassible, you’ll just contribute to the traffic jam, and you may not get to safety. You’ll also make it harder for emergency vehicles to get through.)
- Stop to pack your most cherished possessions to take with you. (You may not have time.)
- Wait for an official warning if you feel an earthquake that lasts a minute or more, are on the beach and the tide suddenly goes out, or you see a wall of water rushing toward you. (By the time a warning is issued, it may be too late.)
- Start to put together an emergency survival kit. (You should already have one prepared.)
- Go back because you don’t remember whether you turned off the oven.
- Brush your teeth and put on your makeup before going out.
- Stop to put on clean underwear because you might have to go to the hospital.
- Live in a tsunami hazard zone.