Following the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, the ITIC compiled essential tsunami awareness materials to support government agencies, emergency managers, and educators. This DVD contains basic resources originally developed for the Pacific Tsunami Warning & Mitigation System (PTWS) in the 1990s-2000s, updated after 2004 to address tsunamis as a global hazard.

Materials like "Tsunami, the Great Waves," "Tsunami Warning!," and awareness posters are provided in customizable formats to meet local needs, cultures, and languages. The Tsunami Glossary 2008 is available upon request. You may freely use and modify these materials while retaining ITIC logos and credits, and adding your agency information. Please share your modified versions with us.

Files are available in PDF (low/high resolution), Word (.doc) for translation, and Adobe Illustrator (.ai) for design modifications. ITIC can assist with finalizing materials in the original layout design. Our goal is to provide all basic materials in English, French, and Spanish, with select resources in other languages contributed by Member States.

All materials are available by DVD upon request or downloadable from the ITIC website. Contact us at itic.tsunami@noaa.gov for additional requests or to contribute to our collection.

ITIC Tsunami Awareness and Education Materials

• Pacific Disaster Center - The PDC provides easy access to hazard and risk information and analytical products for executive decision-makers, disaster managers, and community planners 
• National Tsunami Warning Center
• University of Alaska Fairbanks - Alaska Earthquake Center Hazard Maps
• Mitigation Page - see DHS&EM's complete list of mitigation links here 

If you have questions contact:  

DISTANT SOURCE TSUNAMI HAZARD means the tsunami is generated so far away that the earthquake was not felt at all or only slightly. An estimate can be made of potential danger. Maximum runup heights would only be reached at the shoreline and the maximum distance inland only reached where the coast is low, flat, and unobstructed. "High" means possible runup to 50 foot elevation and reaching up to 1 mile inland. "Moderate" means possible runup to 35 foot elevation and inland up to 3/4 mile. "Low" means possible runup to 20 foot elevation and reaching up to 1/2 mile inland.

All listed communities may have a LOCAL TSUNAMI HAZARD which means a tsunami could be generated in nearby waters and reach your community before a formal warning could be transmitted. These waves may arrive in less than one hour and have historically been the highest, up to 100 foot or more. The estimated possible height in each community is difficult to determine. Coastal residents who feel a very strong earthquake (lasting over 30 seconds or if you have difficulty standing) should move to higher ground immediately.

Historic tsunami information and ongoing numeric studies indicate that tsunami flood threat along the western Alaska coast (Bering Sea) is very low, though there is a higher threat in some instances along the Pribilof Island coasts.  We have run a preliminary tsunami propagation model. Two hypothetical tsunami sources (earthquakes of Mw 9.0) were placed in the eastern and western parts of the Aleutian chain. The tsunami waves propagated through the Northern Pacific and into the Bering Sea. The continental shelf in the Bering Sea substantially dissipates tsunami energy and slows down the waves. As a result, tsunami waves arrive at Hawaii before they reach the Bering Sea coastline, which gives sufficient warning time to those communities. Higher amplitudes were calculated for St. George and St. Paul islands due to their proximity to the continental slope. The Bristol Bay area has only an estimated >1 meter wave height potential.