Tsunami

Learn your evacuation route today, because on the day of the earthquake you won't have time to improvise one. FEMA's official fact sheet gives a concrete target for where to go: 30 meters (100 feet) above sea level, or at least 1.6 kilometers (one mile) inland. If your area has evacuation signage, follow it: it was mapped using the local inundation study, which is better than any calculation you could make yourself.

• Walk your route at least once, timing it, and do it with the children and older family members too.
• Keep closed shoes and a flashlight within reach in a fixed spot: many tsunamis arrive at night.
• Agree on a meeting point on high ground, not at home. Nobody goes back down to look for anyone.
• If you live, work, or send your children to school in a low-lying coastal area, ask what the protocol is and where the safe zone is.
• Have a battery radio: for a distant tsunami, the official warning does arrive, and there is time to hear it.

Local tsunami — the earthquake is the warning

The NWS defines it this way: "The source of a local tsunami is close to the coast and may arrive in less than one hour." NOAA adds that local tsunamis can arrive just minutes after the event that generates them. In this scenario there won't be a bulletin in time: if you feel a strong or long earthquake on the coast, first protect yourself from the earthquake — drop, cover, hold on — and, as soon as the shaking stops, move to high ground.

Distant tsunami — here there is a warning

When it is generated on the other side of the ocean, "there is more time to issue and respond to warnings." This is the case where the radio, your phone, and the authorities work as a warning system, and where it's best to leave in an orderly way rather than in a stampede.

1. First, survive the earthquake. If you're on the coast and the ground shakes, the first threat is the earthquake itself: drop, cover, and hold on until the shaking stops. Only then does the evacuation begin.
2. Move to high ground or get away, without waiting for confirmation. Move as high or as far inland as possible, or to your safe zone outside the risk area. Don't waste time checking social media to see if it "really" is coming: in a local tsunami, by the time there's confirmation, there won't be any time left.
3. Do it on foot if you can. NOAA is explicit about this: plan to evacuate on foot if you can; roads may be impassable because of damage, closures, or traffic jams. A strong earthquake leaves streets broken and traffic lights dead; the car that seemed like the faster option is the trap where many people get stuck.
4. Don't go down to look at the sea. Water pulling back and exposing the seabed isn't a spectacle: it's the sign that the wave is coming. Every documented tsunami has its own list of people who went down to look or to pick up stranded fish.

Warning

Issued when a tsunami with the potential to generate widespread inundation is imminent, expected, or occurring. Action: move to high ground or inland.

Advisory

Issued when currents or waves dangerous to anyone in the water or very close to it are expected. Action: get out of the water and stay away from beaches and waterways. It doesn't require evacuating inland, but the beach stops being a safe place.

Watch

Issued when a tsunami may later affect the area. Action: stay informed and be ready to act.

• Stay on high ground until the authorities declare the danger over, even if the sea looks calm.
• When you return, avoid standing water: it may contain sewage, fuel, and live electrical wires.
• Don't enter a building that was surrounded by water until someone with technical judgment has inspected it: water undermines foundations.
• Document all the damage with photographs before you clean up or throw anything away, for insurance and for any official aid.
• Treat tap water as unsafe to drink until the authorities confirm otherwise: check the disinfection procedure in the infrastructure crisis guide.
• Expect electricity and water to take a while to come back: the power outage guide covers those days.

A family tsunami plan stands out for one rule you have to accept ahead of time: everyone gets to high ground on their own. Nobody goes back down to look for anyone, and the meeting point is up top, not at home. It sounds harsh, and it's exactly what separates the families who reunite from those who don't.

With children

Teach them the three natural signs the same way you teach them to cross the street: if it shakes hard, if the sea pulls back, if you hear a roar, you go up without asking anyone's permission. A child who knows this can save themselves even if they're not with you, which is exactly the scenario that's frightening.

With older adults or people with limited mobility

This is the hardest part, and it has to be worked out beforehand: who goes with them, by which route, and which tall, nearby building can serve as vertical refuge if the recommended height can't be reached. That arrangement gets made with your neighbors, not just within the family.

If you work or live facing the sea

Keep the same things at work as at home: closed shoes, a flashlight, and a known route. Most people are not at home when the emergency happens.

How to store it so it works when you need it

The CDC calls for approved food-grade containers with a tight-fitting lid, made of a sturdy, unbreakable material —never glass— and with a narrow mouth for pouring. An explicit warning: never use a container that has held toxic chemicals such as bleach or pesticides. And what almost everyone forgets: stored water should be replaced every 6 months. To disinfect the container before filling it, use a teaspoon of unscented household bleach per liter of water, wait 30 seconds, and pour it out.

What food to keep on hand

Ready.gov recommends several days of non-perishable food and gives a concrete list: ready-to-eat canned meats, fruits, and vegetables —and a can opener—, protein or fruit bars, dry cereal or granola, peanut butter, dried fruit, canned juices, and pasteurized long-life milk. The rule when putting it together is simple: food your family will actually eat, that needs no cooking, and that you can rotate before it expires.

• Keep the refrigerator and freezer closed: every time you open one, you waste hours of stored cold.
• Throw out any food that has touched floodwater, even if the container looks intact. This is an explicit Ready.gov instruction.
• Keep a manual can opener. It is the item people forget most, and without it your pantry is useless.
• If you buy bottled water, keep it sealed in its original container, in a cool, dark place.

When the cell network is overloaded: text, do not call

The joint FCC and FEMA guide explains why: "text messages may get through when your call does not", even if delivery is delayed when the network is congested. And it asks for something almost no one does: "limit non-emergency calls", because every call takes up space that emergency communications need. Also save a contact under the name "ICE" (In Case of Emergency), the convention rescue personnel look for on someone else's phone.

How to stretch your battery

The same guide recommends lowering screen brightness and turning off apps to conserve charge. In an emergency your phone stops being entertainment and becomes your only line to the outside world: treat it like your water supply.

The battery-powered radio is still irreplaceable

The FCC and FEMA recommend a battery-powered radio or a portable television to follow emergency bulletins during power outages. It is the only channel that depends on neither your electricity nor the cell network.

The alerts you already have and did not know about

In the United States, Wireless Emergency Alerts are free messages that go straight to your phone for severe weather, AMBER alerts, and threats to safety in your area. Two things worth knowing: you do not need to sign up —phones have supported them since 2012— and they are not affected by network congestion, so they get through when calls no longer do. Find out what the equivalent system is in your country, and do not mute it.

• Have at least one light source that does not depend on the grid: a battery-powered or hand-crank flashlight, or a rechargeable lamp.
• Charge phones and backup batteries before the forecast event arrives, not after the power is already out.
• Keep a list of important phone numbers on paper: if your phone dies, your contacts die with it.
• Agree with your family that after an emergency everyone texts the same contact instead of calling each other.

This is the section that decides who has a hard time and who has a dangerously hard time. An emergency does not suspend diabetes, high blood pressure, pregnancy, or dependence on an oxygen concentrator: what gets cut off is access to the pharmacy, the clinic, and electricity. Everything that follows needs to be prepared beforehand, because once the emergency hits, there is no more room.

1. Keep a reserve of your medications, and know which ones hold up. Ready.gov calls for a several-day supply of prescription medications. For those that need refrigeration, the CDC is blunt: once the power has been out for a day or more, discard any medication that requires refrigeration, unless its label says otherwise.
2. The insulin exception, worth knowing word for word. The FDA documents that insulin in the manufacturer's original vials or cartridges —opened or unopened— can stay unrefrigerated between 15 and 30 °C (59 and 86 °F) for up to 28 days and still work. It loses effectiveness at extreme temperatures, and the longer the exposure, the less effective it becomes. In an emergency "you may still need to use insulin that was stored above 30 °C" —that is better than not using it at all— but as soon as proper storage is available again, those vials should be discarded and replaced.
3. If someone depends on electric medical equipment, there is one step almost no one takes. Ready.gov says it explicitly: you can ask your power company to put you on a priority list for service restoration. That step is free, can be done on any ordinary day, and changes the order in which you get reconnected. Add a backup battery for an electric wheelchair and for any assistive device, and talk with your doctor about how to keep the equipment running during a power outage.
4. Keep a copy of medical information, not just the pills. A list of medications with dosages, allergies, diagnoses, doctors' contact information, and —for infants— the vaccination record. A prescription bottle cannot always be refilled at a pharmacy in another city; a written list can solve that.

Pregnancy and newborns

The CDC calls for prenatal vitamins and other medications in the kit, plus supplies in case delivery happens without being able to reach a hospital: clean towels, clean sharp scissors, a bulb syringe, gloves, two clean white shoelaces to tie the cord, clean sheets, sanitary pads, soap or alcohol, and garbage bags. For infants: diapers, wipes, ointment, bottles, and formula. One detail that matters: ready-to-feed formula is the safest option in an emergency, because it does not need to be mixed with water and comes in sterile, single-use containers.

Disability, reduced mobility, and older adults

Ready.gov stresses planning accessible transportation in advance for evacuating or getting around, and including a service or support animal with its food, water, and supplies. That plan should be worked out with specific, named neighbors, not left vague.

The blow that comes later: mental health

The CDC names the normal reactions after a disaster —fear, anger, sadness, worry, numbness, frustration, trouble sleeping, or nightmares— and recommends taking care of your body, staying in touch with other people, and taking breaks from the news. In the United States and its territories, the Disaster Distress Helpline is available 24 hours a day: 1-800-985-5990, with service in Spanish. Asking for help here is not weakness: it is part of recovery, just like repairing the roof.

1. Before you go back in: look, smell, and listen from outside. The CDC lays it out this way: if you smell gas or suspect a leak, shut off the main valve, open all the windows, and get out immediately. If there is standing water inside and you can cut the power from a dry spot, do it. And one simple warning that prevents explosions and fires: use battery-powered flashlights, not candles, gas lanterns, or torches.
2. Ventilate before you settle in. The CDC recommends going in briefly to open doors and windows, and letting the house air out for at least 30 minutes before staying inside.
3. Shutting off utilities: when to do it, and the mistake you cannot make. Gas has a rule with no exceptions: if you shut it off for any reason, only a qualified professional can turn it back on. Never turn it back on yourself. Electricity is shut off by switching off the individual circuits first and the main breaker last —the order matters, because an electrical spark can ignite gas if there is a leak—. Water should be shut off if pipes may have cracked, because that contaminates the house supply, and should not be turned back on until authorities confirm it is safe to drink.
4. Go back only when authorities say it is safe. It sounds obvious, and it is the instruction people break most often: go back home only when authorities say it is safe. Structural damage is not always visible from the street.

• Make a photo inventory of what is in each room today: it takes twenty minutes and is worth its weight in gold for a claim.
• Keep that inventory and your policies outside the house —in the cloud or with a family member— because a file that gets soaked along with the house is useless.
• If you have to leave, take your documents with you, not your furniture.
• Do not sign anything with a contractor while you are in shock: check the money section for the warning signs of fraud.

The documents you need to protect today

The official recommendation is to keep insurance policies, deeds, property records, and other important papers in a safe place outside the house. FEMA publishes the Emergency Financial First Aid Kit for this, organized into four sections: household identification, financial and legal documentation, medical information, and contacts. Its rule for paper: a fireproof and waterproof box or safe, a bank safe-deposit box, or in the hands of someone you trust. For digital files: password-protected files on an external drive or in secure storage outside the home. And if you pay everything online, print your account records periodically.

An emergency fund, even a small one

The CFPB avoids magic formulas: "the amount you need depends on your situation", but "even a small amount can provide some financial security". Its underlying argument is the one that matters: without that cushion, a single unexpected expense can grow far larger than the original bill through interest and fees, because it forces you to rely on credit.

A tsunami leaves a different kind of damage than a rain flood: the water arrives with force, drags things along, and leaves salt, mud, and heavy debris well inland. The demand it creates resembles a flood's, with two additions of its own: the dragging of large objects and damage from salt water.

• Debris removal and clearing of objects swept inland: furniture, vehicles, boats, and construction debris.
• Mud and salt cleanup indoors, in yards, and on streets.
• Drying out homes and mold control, on the same 24-to-48-hour clock as any flood.
• Washing and recovering belongings that sat in salt water, which corrodes metal and electronics.
• Cleaning of cisterns and rooftop tanks left contaminated with seawater.
• Drinking water and prepared food while the network is down.
• Signage and evacuation routes: paint, signs, and maps for coastal neighborhoods and businesses — the preventive work.

It helps to start with one figure to size up what we're talking about: according to the ILO, informality affects nearly half of the employed population of Latin America and the Caribbean, around 47%, with huge differences between countries — under 30% in Uruguay and Chile, over 70% in Bolivia and Peru. For millions of families in the region, "looking for a job" and "starting something on your own" are the same sentence. What follows is not a promise of income: it is a map of what people actually do when a crisis hits, with the requirements and the risks laid out plainly.

Cleanup and drying after salt water

It's the job with the most demand, and it's worth understanding well: salt doesn't go away on its own — whatever you want to save has to be rinsed with fresh water, then dried. NIOSH's clock applies the same as in a flood — remove or dry water-damaged material within 24 to 48 hours to keep mold from taking hold — and so does the EPA's limit: above 10 square feet of mold, or if the water came from sewage, the job is for an experienced professional.

Removal of heavy debris and objects swept inland

A tsunami moves things a flood doesn't: vehicles, boats, tanks. That work requires equipment and coordination with the local authority, which usually decides where each type of debris is dropped off. If you don't have machinery, there's plenty of work in sorting and manual hauling, wearing the protective gear OSHA documents: boots, gloves, a hard hat, and eye and respiratory protection.

Evacuation-route signage — the preventive business

It's the most useful and the least attended to. Painting and posting evacuation-route signs, marking the safe elevation line, and drawing simple maps for neighborhoods, hotels, schools, and coastal businesses. Sell it to neighborhood committees, chambers of commerce, and tourism businesses, which have a direct interest in being able to say their area is signposted. And unlike everything else on this list, this work saves lives before anything happens.

United States — SBA disaster loans

For areas with a declared disaster. The Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) provides working capital for affected small businesses and nonprofit organizations; the physical damage loan covers losses not covered by insurance. Combined cap of $2 million, interest not exceeding 4% if you cannot obtain credit elsewhere, terms of up to 30 years, and the first payment deferred 12 months. There is also a line for homeowners (up to $500,000) and for renters for personal property (up to $100,000).

Mexico — what actually exists today

FONDEN stopped taking on new commitments on January 1, 2021. What operates today in emergencies is PAEAN, run by Civil Protection, and it is worth knowing exactly what it is and is not: it delivers relief supplies — food kits, water, blankets, roofing sheets, cleaning materials — when a state's own capacity is overwhelmed. It is not a reconstruction fund or a loan for your business. For capital, look at state, municipal, or development-bank programs, always verifying on the official website: fraud schemes that use its name circulate around these programs.

Brazil — Pronampe for micro and small businesses

A credit line for microenterprises (annual revenue up to 360,000 reais) and small businesses (from 360,000 to 4.8 million). The amount can reach up to 60% of the previous year's gross revenue for businesses with more than one year in operation, and up to 50% for new ones. The maximum rate is the SELIC rate plus up to 6% per year.

What documented tsunamis teach us. The Americas hold the most striking record of all: the largest earthquake ever measured happened in Chile.

Valdivia, Chile, May 22, 1960 — the tsunami that crossed the Pacific

The magnitude 9.5 earthquake is the largest earthquake ever instrumentally recorded. Deaths in Chile from both events are estimated at between 490 and 5,700, according to NOAA. But what sets this case apart is its reach: the tsunami killed 61 people in Hawaii, left at least 21 dead in the Philippines, and reached Japan almost a day later, where it destroyed close to 3,000 homes. The lesson: a distant tsunami can kill on the other side of the ocean a full day later. If your country issues a warning for an earthquake that happened far away, that warning is real.

Queule, Chile, 1960 — the natural sign that saved a family

USGS documents in its survival circular that, in Queule, Vitalia Llanquimán was warned by a man on horseback that the sea had pulled back from the coast. Her husband read it for what it was — a tsunami warning — and they climbed with the children to the hill, where they survived. Another family in the same town stayed on low ground even as their neighbors were already evacuating, and lost members. The lesson: knowing how to read the sign and acting without waiting for confirmation is, literally, the difference.

Onagawa, Japan, 1960 — an entire town warned in time

The same USGS document records the case of firefighter Kimura Kunio, who noticed an abnormal movement of the water in the harbor before dawn and alerted the town. Residents reached high ground before the first big wave, and there were no deaths. The document also confirms the pattern this guide keeps repeating: the second wave was bigger than the first, and the biggest one arrived even later.

The scale of the risk, in official numbers

NOAA records the major recent events: Chile 2010, magnitude 8.8 earthquake, 558 dead from the earthquake and tsunami combined; Japan 2011, magnitude 9.0, 15,890 dead and 2,590 missing; Indian Ocean 2004, magnitude 9.1, 227,898 dead or missing. These are combined earthquake-and-tsunami figures, exactly as the source publishes them.

Related guides on this site:

• Earthquake — what you have to survive first, and which is also the warning.
• Flood — cleanup and drying out after the water.
• Infrastructure crisis — how to make water safe when the network fails.
• Combined crisis — earthquake, tsunami, and power outage chained together, which is how it actually happens.