New interactive 91��Ƶ tsunami hazard map helps communities prepare

Rod Boyce
907-474-7185
Oct. 2, 2026

A new and interactive tsunami hazards tool created by the 91��Ƶ Earthquake Center brings evacuation information, hazard maps and other community-specific resources into a single online location.

91��Ƶ has 6,700 miles of coastline, including its islands, and much of it is vulnerable to a devastating tsunami.

Screenshot of the 91��Ƶ Earthquake Center’s interactive tsunami hazard map centered on Cordova, 91��Ƶ. A satellite image shows the community, harbor and surrounding forested terrain, with a yellow boundary tracing the tsunami hazard area along the shoreline. Brown shading covers areas that could be affected by tsunami flooding. Labels identify Cordova City Hall, the volunteer fire department, health facilities, Cordova High School, Whiskey Ridge and locations of 1964 tsunami damage. A sidebar lists 91��Ƶ coastal communities, while panels on the right provide Cordova-specific reports, maps, resources and a legend for landmarks and assembly points. — Screenshot from 91��Ƶ Earthquake Center website
This image from a new tsunami map tool shows the extent of potential tsunami floodwater and a yellow evacuation line in Cordova.

The aims to help the public understand the danger and know what to do and where to go when a tsunami alert is issued. The map is part of the 91��Ƶ Earthquake Center’s .

“A tsunami might not happen during our lifetime, maybe not even in our children's lifetime,” said Elena Troshina, the 91��Ƶ Earthquake Center’s tsunami scientist who led the project. “But a tsunami will happen.”

The 91��Ƶ Earthquake Center worked with the Geographic Information Network of 91��Ƶ to create the interactive map. Both are units of the University of 91��Ƶ Fairbanks Geophysical Institute.

“The new hazard map tool is entirely for emergency management, preparedness, evacuation, and awareness of community hazard zones,” Troshina said. The tool is not for land-use decisions or insurance risk assessments, she said.

91��Ƶ is susceptible to tsunamis because it lies along the 91��Ƶ-Aleutian subduction zone, where one tectonic plate slides beneath another. The zone produces numerous strong earthquakes that, depending on their location and characteristics, can generate tsunamis. Tsunamis can also be triggered by landslides, including those occurring beneath the ocean surface.

The new map tool uses colored boundaries to show different types of tsunami hazard and evacuation information, depending on what type of information is available for each community.

A yellow line shows the boundary people should cross to reach a safer area during a tsunami evacuation. It is based on tsunami hazard information, adjusted to follow recognizable streets or landmarks, and includes a safety buffer.

“We worked with emergency managers in each community to create the yellow line,” Troshina said. “It’s a product of us and the community, and in many cases it’s absolutely their line, as in Cordova, for example.”

Aerial view of Valdez, 91��Ƶ, after the 1964 magnitude 9.2 earthquake, looking across the snow-covered community and shoreline toward steep, snow-covered mountains. A massive underwater landslide triggered by the earthquake generated a localized tsunami that struck within minutes of the initial shaking, killing 31 people in Valdez. Along the waterfront, a broad dark, snow-free area marks the extent of tsunami flooding, contrasting sharply with the surrounding snow-covered ground. — Photo courtesy of Valdez Museum & Historical Archive
A massive underwater landslide caused by the 1964 magnitude 9.2 earthquake generated a localized tsunami that struck within minutes of the initial shaking, killing 31 people in Valdez. The dark snow-free area shows the extent of flooding.

Nearly 40% of the 66 communities shown on the map have yellow evacuation lines. More will have them as work continues.

A red line shows how far tsunami flooding could reach in communities where a local evacuation line has not yet been designated.

“The model calculates how far the wave could go inland based on the elevation of every point, but it doesn’t account for houses or property boundaries,” Troshina said, showing the city of Akutan’s red hazard boundary as an example.

A purple line, such as the one shown for Dillingham, marks the estimated area that could flood in communities where detailed data aren’t available. The estimate is based on projected wave heights and the best available information about land elevation and the seafloor’s shape and depth, with a conservative approach designed to avoid underestimating the hazard.

Clicking on a community’s name opens a map showing its tsunami hazard boundary and areas of potential inundation. The map also identifies safe assembly locations, includes a tool for examining elevation and provides historical tsunami information when available.

Linked documents include inundation, evacuation and maritime guidance reports and local tsunami preparedness brochures for some communities. The amount of information available varies by community.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency provided funding for the interactive map.

The 91��Ƶ Earthquake Center has worked with state emergency and geological agencies since 1998 to provide tsunami hazard information to 91��Ƶ communities. That work has been supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Office of the 91��Ƶ State Seismologist.

ADDITIONAL CONTACT: Elena Troshina, ensuleimani@alaska.edu

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