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To determine whether a tsunami warning applies to you in the United States, check the active event message at Tsunami.gov, then use the official evacuation map for your state, territory, county, or community to look up the exact address or place. The national warning map shows broad forecast zones, not necessarily the line where local officials want people to evacuate.
If you are near the coast and feel strong or prolonged earthquake shaking, see the ocean suddenly withdraw or rise, or hear an unusual roar, move inland or to higher ground immediately. Do not wait for a website alert. Natural warnings can arrive before an official message.
The two checks that answer “Does the tsunami warning apply to my location?”
A reliable answer requires two different sources because they perform different jobs:
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- Check the live warning-center message. Go to Tsunami.gov, the U.S. Tsunami Warning System site. Open the active event details and read the message, rather than relying only on the headline banner.
- Check the local evacuation map. Use the NOAA/National Weather Service directory of tsunami evacuation and inundation maps by U.S. state and territory. Select the jurisdiction for the location you care about and search the map for the street address, workplace, school, beach, or other destination.
The first check tells you what threat is being forecast and where the warning center is applying its message. The second tells you whether the specific place is inside a locally mapped evacuation area. Follow current instructions from local emergency management or other local authorities if they differ from your interpretation of a map.
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Warning status can change quickly. Recheck the official message for updates, changes in alert level, or cancellation. Do not treat an old screenshot, social-media post, or cached map as a current evacuation order.
Why a national tsunami map is not your evacuation map
The Tsunami.gov map FAQ explains that U.S. alert boundaries use National Weather Service forecast zones. Those zones are designed to communicate the area for which a tsunami threat is being forecast and can extend well inland beyond the area expected to experience inundation.
Therefore, seeing your town, county, or address inside a shaded national alert boundary does not by itself prove that local authorities are telling you to evacuate. Conversely, a location that appears outside a broad display should still follow a local evacuation order if officials issue one for that location.
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|---|---|---|---|
| Warning-center event message and map | Communicates the tsunami threat, forecast coverage, timing, and alert status. | Broad NWS forecast zones; boundaries may extend inland beyond expected inundation. | Read the event message and then check local official instructions. |
| Local evacuation or inundation map | Shows mapped areas that may need evacuation or could be affected by flooding and currents. | Local streets, landmarks, terrain, and designated evacuation areas. | Use it to determine whether the exact place is in a local zone. |
| Local emergency-management direction | Provides the current operational order for residents, visitors, schools, businesses, and responders. | May use neighborhoods, roads, facilities, or other boundaries not obvious on a national map. | Follow the current instruction even if a map seems ambiguous. |
For an uncertain boundary, the FAQ directs you to contact local emergency management or law enforcement, or your local NWS Weather Forecast Office. It specifically distinguishes this kind of clarification from calling 911 merely to ask whether a map boundary applies.
Step-by-step: check a warning for a home, workplace, school, or beach
1. Identify the jurisdiction and the exact place
Write down the state or territory, county, city, community, and the exact place you are checking. Use the most specific description available: a street address, school campus, hotel, trailhead, harbor, beach access, or workplace. A place you visit often may be in a different jurisdiction from your home and use a different map.
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NWS preparedness guidance recommends checking every location where you spend substantial time, including home, school, work, and frequently visited places. If you are traveling, check the destination before you arrive and again if an event occurs.
2. Open the live U.S. message
Visit Tsunami.gov and look at the active message list and event details. The map FAQ says that all active U.S. and Canadian alerts associated with an event are listed below the map, so scroll through the event page instead of reading only the map label or top banner.
Record the event name or number, the current alert level, the affected coast or forecast zones, any estimated arrival times, and the recommended actions. Read the time and date shown on the message; tsunami information is time-sensitive and may be revised as additional observations arrive.
3. Select the local evacuation-map resource
Open the NWS directory at Tsunami Evacuation and Inundation Maps by U.S. State and Territory. Choose the relevant state or territory and follow its links to the local map. Some jurisdictions publish separate maps for counties, cities, islands, or individual communities.
Use the map’s address search if it has one. If it does not, find the address by roads, shoreline, landmarks, and elevation contours. Confirm that you are looking at an evacuation map, not merely a tsunami travel-time, forecast-zone, or general hazard map.
4. Compare the exact location with the local zone
Check whether the place is inside the locally marked evacuation area. Note nearby zone boundaries, the direction of travel to safe ground, and any designated assembly or vertical-evacuation locations. A location can be inside a broad warning-center forecast zone but outside the local evacuation area shown on the jurisdiction’s map.
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Do not infer safety solely from being outside a colored national boundary. Local officials may issue instructions that account for local topography, currents, infrastructure, or an observed wave. The live message and local direction together are more authoritative than an isolated map color.
5. Read the local instructions attached to the map
Local maps often include route arrows, road restrictions, assembly areas, accessibility information, or instructions for people who cannot reach high ground quickly. Follow the accompanying emergency-management text, not just the graphic. If authorities have issued a current evacuation order, obey it even if the map is difficult to interpret.
6. Recheck for updates and cancellation
Tsunami conditions can continue after the first wave. Return to the official event page for updated alert status and to local channels for evacuation changes. Do not return to an evacuated coastal area until officials issue an all-clear. Dangerous flooding and currents can persist for hours or days, and the first wave may not be the largest.
What each U.S. tsunami alert level means
The National Weather Service uses four alert levels for U.S. and Canadian coastlines. The current event message and local instructions control what you should do now.
| Alert level | Meaning | Typical action |
|---|---|---|
| Warning | The most serious actionable level; a tsunami may produce dangerous flooding, currents, or both. | Evacuate the hazard or evacuation zone when instructed. Follow local officials immediately; do not delay because an estimated arrival time is still in the future. |
| Advisory | Dangerous currents or waves are possible, especially in and near the water. | Stay out of the water and away from beaches, harbors, rivers, and waterways as directed. An advisory is not automatically a broad land evacuation order. |
| Watch | A tsunami is possible, but the threat and affected areas may still be evaluated. | Monitor official information, check your local map, and be ready to act if the level changes or local authorities issue instructions. |
| Information statement | Provides information about an earthquake or possible tsunami without establishing a local evacuation order by itself. | Read the message for updates and continue to follow any separate local direction. |
A warning message may include an estimated arrival time and a description of expected impacts. Treat the estimate as planning information, not permission to wait. If a local authority orders evacuation, begin moving immediately.
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Natural warnings: when to evacuate before an alert arrives
Official messages are not the only warnings. In a coastal hazard or evacuation area, act immediately if you experience any of these signs:
- A strong earthquake or shaking that lasts unusually long.
- The sea suddenly withdraws far from shore or rises rapidly.
- A loud roar or unusual sound comes from the ocean.
The NWS explains that a tsunami can arrive within minutes after natural signs. Move to safe ground or inland without waiting to confirm the event on Tsunami.gov, television, or a phone alert. Warn people nearby as you leave if doing so does not slow your escape.
Natural and official warnings are separate channels, and you may receive one without the other. If you are outside the mapped hazard or evacuation zone and receive an official or natural warning, NWS guidance states: “If you are outside of the tsunami hazard or evacuation zone and you receive an official or natural tsunami warning, a tsunami is possible or likely, but you are in a safe place.” The National Weather Service’s During a Tsunami guidance adds the important qualification that local officials may instruct otherwise, so follow their current direction.
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What to do when the map is unclear
Use the right map first
Check that the map is for your state or territory and the specific community. A regional map may show an entire coastline without the street-level boundary needed to answer whether one address is included. Look for labels such as “evacuation zone” or “inundation zone,” and read the map legend.
Ask the local authority that maintains the map
If the address falls on a line, the map is unreadable, or two local maps conflict, contact local emergency management or law enforcement for clarification. The Tsunami.gov FAQ also identifies the local NWS Weather Forecast Office as a source for uncertainty about the warning information. During an active emergency, use the latest official instructions rather than waiting for a nonurgent map question to be resolved.
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Do not substitute a general-purpose map
Standard road maps, elevation apps, property maps, and the broad Tsunami.gov display may not show the legally or operationally defined evacuation boundary. They can help you orient yourself, but they do not replace the local evacuation map or an official order.
How to receive official updates
NWS lists these channels for tsunami warnings and updates:
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- Marine radio for people on or near the water.
- Wireless Emergency Alerts on compatible mobile phones.
- NOAA Weather Radio.
- NOAA websites, including Tsunami.gov.
A NOAA Weather Radio receiver can receive official alerts, but it cannot determine whether a particular street address lies inside a local evacuation zone. Pair any alert receiver with your local map and emergency-management instructions.
Prepare before an earthquake or tsunami
Check all of your routine locations
Use the state-and-territory directory to identify the local map for your home, workplace, school, and frequently visited coastal places. Save an offline copy or bookmark the official page so you can find it when cellular networks are congested.
Learn more than one route
Identify a route to high ground or another designated safe place from each routine location. Consider a walking route because roads may be damaged, blocked, or congested. Learn where the route begins, which roads or paths may become impassable, and where you would reunite with household members.
Plan for people who cannot reach high ground quickly
Ask local emergency management whether the community has designated vertical-evacuation options. This may matter in a flat coastal area where reaching distant high ground is not practical. Confirm which buildings or facilities local authorities identify as safe; do not choose an unfamiliar tall structure on your own during an emergency.
Practice the decision rule
Use this simple sequence: natural signs mean move immediately; an official warning means follow the local evacuation instruction; an advisory means stay out of the water and away from beaches and waterways; a watch means monitor and prepare; an information statement means read for updates. In every case, current local direction takes priority.
Quick Recap
Common mistakes and how to avoid them
- Relying only on the national map: Use the local evacuation map for the exact address.
- Assuming a broad shaded zone is an evacuation order: Forecast zones can extend inland beyond expected inundation.
- Waiting for a phone alert after strong shaking: Natural signs require immediate movement to safety.
- Leaving after the first wave: Continue following official updates; dangerous currents and flooding may last for hours or days.
- Returning when the estimated arrival time passes: An arrival estimate is not an all-clear.
- Checking only one familiar location: Home, work, school, and regular destinations may be in different local zones.
- Using an old map or social-media post: Reopen the current official map and event message.
- Calling 911 to interpret a boundary: For map uncertainty, use local emergency management, law enforcement, or the local NWS office as directed by the Tsunami.gov FAQ.
A compact decision checklist
- Identify the exact place and its state, territory, county, or community.
- Open the active event at Tsunami.gov and read the full message and alert list.
- Open the local map from NWS’s state-and-territory directory.
- Look up the address and determine whether it is inside the local evacuation or inundation area.
- Follow the current instruction from local emergency management or other authorities.
- If you feel strong or prolonged shaking, see unusual ocean behavior, or hear an ocean roar, evacuate immediately without waiting for an online alert.
- Stay away until officials issue an all-clear.
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