Tsunami warning system

A network of sensors, analysis centers, and communication channels that detects potential tsunamis and alerts threatened areas.

Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis: A system of ocean-bottom pressure sensors and surface buoys that detects and reports tsunami waves in deep water. Its instruments measure passing waves and transmit observations to warning centers.
Tsunami warning: An official alert that a tsunami may threaten specified coastal areas. Warning centers issue these alerts when observations or forecasts indicate danger.
1960 Valdivia earthquake: A magnitude 9.5 earthquake off southern Chile that generated a destructive Pacific-wide tsunami. Its transoceanic tsunami helped spur coordinated Pacific warning arrangements.
Earthquake early warning: A system that detects an earthquake after rupture begins and alerts locations before strong shaking arrives. It warns of ground shaking, not the tsunami that an earthquake may generate.
2004 Indian Ocean tsunami: A tsunami that killed more than 200,000 people across countries bordering the Indian Ocean in 2004. Its enormous toll made the human cost of missing regional alerts unmistakable.
Tide gauge: An instrument that measures changes in sea level at a fixed coastal location. Coastal sea-level records help confirm a tsunami and track its arrival.
Tsunami evacuation: The organized movement of people away from areas at risk of tsunami flooding. Warnings give communities time to move beyond likely inundation zones.
Pacific Tsunami Warning Center: A U.S. warning center in Hawaii that monitors and issues tsunami information for the Pacific and other regions. It became a central institution in the development of international tsunami alerts.
Tsunami watch: An alert indicating that a tsunami is possible and that further information is being assessed. A watch signals uncertainty and differs from a confirmed threat requiring immediate protective action.
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami: A magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami that struck northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011. The disaster showed that even advanced systems can underestimate tsunami height and impact.

Linked from 13 pages