Green Friday: Understanding Tsunami Hazards in and around the Bay Area

Green Friday meets on the second Friday of the month in the Sierra Club's Bay Chapter Office, 2530 San Pablo Ave. Berkeley.  Doors open at 7:00 p.m.; the program runs from 7:30 to 9:00 including questions and discussion.  Refreshments are served.  A $3 donation is requested.  Our programs present speakers and topics discussing the most important environmental issues of our time.  All are welcome, Sierra Club members as well as nonmembers.

The March Green Friday presentation will be given by Cynthia Pridmor, an engineering geologist with the State Department of Conservation’s  California Geological Survey (CGS) and Kevin Miller, Tsunami Program Officer with the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.  More than eighty tsunamis have been observed or recorded in California in historic times.  Significant recent tsunamis to impact California include the 1964 Alaskan earthquake, the tsunami which caused 12 deaths and destroyed parts of Crescent City, and even more recently and closer to home, the effects of the Japan 2011 tsunami on the Bay Area and California. Although most historical tsunamis that have affected California have been small, non-inundating events, larger ones are a possibility that must be considered for people in coastal communities. Cynthia and Kevin will cover what a tsunami is and what causes them, natural warning signs and public notifications, recent effects of tsunamis on California, an overview of the Bay Area’s vulnerability, and planning for potential future events.  Included in the presentation will be information on preparedness efforts at regional, statewide, and national levels.  Tsunami preparedness posters and pamphlets will be provided.

Informational links:

California Geological Survey Tsunami Program

Cal OES Tsunami Information

The Tsunami Zone

National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program