Disaster Scenario: SoCal Tsunami Could Hit Quickly

Stephanie Ross, a geophysicist at the U.S. Geological Survey offices in Menlo Park, said she has worked with both Ryan and Eric L. Geist, a USGS scientist who helped author the study. Ross said their paper should be taken seriously. “This is worth thinking about,” Ross said. “It shows inundation bigger than what the State of California has in its inundation maps.” State officials, she said, “are going to have to look at that and see if they need to change their maps.” One thing that particularly struck her about the study was the projected wave height. “Twenty feet is a big tsunami,” Ross said. “In harbors it would do a lot of damage. It’s likely there will be high-velocity currents that can pull boats off of moorings, create debris and close down harbors for days.” (View article in The Press Enterprise)