海啸风险估算器

Estimate tsunami risk based on earthquake parameters and your coastal proximity.

Assessment

地震如何引发海啸

海啸是由水的突然大规模位移产生的海洋波浪，最常见的原因是沿俯冲带的海底地震。当巨大地震期间一段大洋地壳被向上推挤或向下塌陷时，会排开大量的水，以一系列长周期波的形式向外传播。在深海中，海啸波以500-800公里/小时的速度传播（类似喷气式飞机），波高仅30-60厘米，几乎无法察觉。当波浪接近浅海沿岸水域时，速度减慢并压缩，导致波高急剧增大——这一过程称为浅水效应——在海岸线处可能达到10-30米甚至更高。

并非所有地震都会引发海啸。关键因素包括：地震必须发生在海底，震源浅（通常小于70公里深度），震级大（局部海啸通常需M7.0以上，区域性海啸需M7.5以上），且必须涉及海底的显著垂直位移。以水平断层运动为主的走滑断层地震很少产生显著海啸。最危险的海啸源机制是俯冲带巨型逆冲断层上的逆冲断裂，如2004年印度洋地震（M9.1）、2011年东北大地震（M9.1）和1960年智利地震（M9.5）。

海啸科学的关键概念

海啸预警时间取决于距离：近场海啸可能在10-30分钟内到达，而跨洋海啸可能需要数小时——2011年日本海啸22小时后抵达智利。
海啸地震是一类特殊的缓慢破裂事件，相对于其震级会产生不成比例的大海啸，对附近海岸特别危险。
爬升高度——水体在陆地上达到的最大垂直高度——由于海岸地形和港湾共振效应，可能远超近海波高。
太平洋海啸预警中心（PTWC）和区域预警中心使用DART浮标（深海压力传感器）实时检测和确认海啸。

常见用途

根据地震参数判断已报告的地震是否有可能引发海啸。
探索地震特征与海啸生成之间关系的教育性研究。
为旅行或搬迁规划评估沿海地区的海啸风险暴露度。
了解海啸预警系统以及近场海啸事件中立即疏散的重要性。

How to Use

1
Enter Earthquake Parameters
Input the earthquake magnitude, focal depth, and location. Tsunamis are most efficiently generated by shallow (< 50 km depth) thrust earthquakes with vertical fault displacement; the tool checks these criteria automatically.
2
Specify Your Coastal Location
Enter your coastal city or coordinates. The tool calculates your approximate distance from the source and identifies whether you are in a mapped tsunami inundation zone based on NOAA and national tsunami center data.
3
Read Your Risk Summary
Review the estimated wave arrival time, indicative wave height range, and evacuation tier. Treat all outputs as supplementary to official warnings from PTWC, NTHMP, or JMA, which must always take precedence.

About

Tsunami science sits at the intersection of seismology, physical oceanography, and coastal engineering. The word tsunami derives from the Japanese 津波 (tsu, harbor; nami, wave), reflecting Japan's millennia of devastating experience with these events. Despite their colloquial name 'tidal waves,' tsunamis have no connection to tidal forces; they are long-period gravity waves with wavelengths of 100–500 km in deep water and wave periods of 10–60 minutes, compared to wind-driven ocean waves with periods of seconds.

The physics of tsunami generation requires a mechanism that displaces a large volume of water vertically over a large area. Megathrust earthquakes accomplish this by the sudden elastic rebound of the overriding plate—the 2011 Tohoku earthquake caused the seafloor to rise by 5–8 meters over a 300 × 200 km area instantaneously, displacing an estimated 5 cubic kilometers of water. The resulting wave system propagates radially, with energy concentrated perpendicular to the fault strike. Directivity effects mean that the coast directly opposite the rupture typically receives the highest waves.

The Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis (DART) buoy network, operated primarily by NOAA, provides real-time sea-level measurements from the deep ocean floor. These buoys detect tsunami wave amplitudes of centimeters in the open ocean, enabling confirmation or cancellation of warnings within 15–30 minutes of a potentially tsunamigenic earthquake. Combined with coastal tide gauge networks and numerical propagation models, DART data allows warning centers to issue probabilistic wave height forecasts for coastal communities hours before wave arrival in distant-field scenarios. Local and regional tsunamis remain the most challenging problem in warning science because the lead times are measured in minutes.

FAQ

What earthquakes generate tsunamis?

Tsunamis are most commonly generated by shallow (< 50 km depth) submarine thrust earthquakes that produce significant vertical seafloor displacement, typically exceeding 1 meter over large areas. The key factors are: magnitude ≥ M7.5 (though some M7.0 events with favorable geometry have generated destructive tsunamis), a thrust (reverse) or oblique-thrust focal mechanism with a large vertical displacement component, shallow focal depth in the crust or uppermost mantle, and occurrence beneath ocean floor rather than continental crust. Strike-slip earthquakes—where motion is primarily horizontal, as on transform faults—rarely generate significant tsunamis. The 2018 Sulawesi earthquake was exceptional: a predominantly strike-slip event triggered localized submarine landslides that generated the devastating Palu Bay tsunami.

How fast do tsunamis travel and when do they arrive?

Tsunami propagation speed in open ocean is governed by the shallow-water wave formula: v = √(g × d), where g is gravitational acceleration and d is ocean depth. In the deep Pacific (average depth ~4,000 m), tsunamis travel at approximately 700–800 km/h—comparable to a commercial jet aircraft. As waves enter shallower coastal water, they slow dramatically (to 50–100 km/h near shore) while their amplitude increases through shoaling. This means a tsunami generated 4,000 km away arrives in about 5–6 hours in deep water, but can take 30–60 minutes to inundate a coast after entering shallow shelf waters. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) issues initial bulletins within 3 minutes of detecting a significant seismic event.

How far inland can tsunami waves travel?

Tsunami inundation distance depends on wave height, coastal topography, and land elevation. The 2011 Tohoku tsunami waves reached heights of 40.5 m (at Miyako, Japan) and inundated up to 10 km inland across flat coastal plains, destroying the town of Rikuzentakata. In contrast, mountainous coastlines confine inundation to narrow strips. Maximum inundation run-up is generally defined as the highest elevation reached by wave water, measured as meters above mean sea level. NOAA and national emergency management agencies have mapped tsunami inundation zones for high-risk coastlines using numerical models calibrated against historical events. These maps define evacuation zones (A through E or Zone 1 through 3 depending on jurisdiction) for emergency planning.

Is a tsunami warning always issued after a large earthquake?

Warning centers issue tsunami warnings, advisories, and watches based on rapid seismic analysis within minutes of a significant event. PTWC monitors earthquakes globally and issues initial bulletins for any event M7.0+ in ocean basin settings within 3 minutes. However, the first message is often a 'tsunami information statement' that may not indicate confirmed wave generation—definitive warnings come after sea-level gauges and DART buoys confirm or deny wave propagation. Local tsunamis—generated by earthquakes within 50–100 km of shore—can arrive within 5–20 minutes, before official warnings are disseminated. In these cases, the natural warning is the shaking itself: the international standard guidance is that prolonged strong shaking near the coast (> 20 seconds) is itself a tsunami warning signal, and coastal residents should evacuate immediately without waiting for official messages.

Are there tsunamis caused by non-earthquake sources?

Tsunamis can be generated by submarine landslides, volcanic activity, meteorite impacts, and atmospheric pressure disturbances (meteotsunamis). Submarine landslides are the second most common cause: the 1958 Lituya Bay event in Alaska, triggered by an earthquake-induced rockslide, produced a 524-meter run-up—the tallest wave in recorded history. The 2022 Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcanic eruption generated an unusual meteotsunami-like pressure wave that propagated globally at the speed of sound in the atmosphere (~340 m/s), reaching Peru and Japan within hours. Volcanic island collapses—hypothesized for the Canary Islands—could theoretically generate Atlantic basin tsunamis, though the probability and magnitude of such events are debated in the scientific community.