By Pamela Cruz. Peninsula 360 Press [P360P] .
Earthquakes in Alaska could be a threat to much of the Bay Area in California, as they could generate tsunamis that would "swallow" much of the coastline causing severe economic, property and human damage.
According to specialists from the California Geological Survey (USGSAn earthquake in the Aleutian Islands, a sparsely populated but seismically active area, poses the greatest threat to California's coastline.
"While damaging tsunamis are rare in the state, if you are on the coast you should be aware of this potential hazard," said Dr. Steve Bohlen, acting state geologist who heads the California USGS, in an interview with CBSN Bay Area.
About 150 tsunamis have hit the California coast since 1800, according to state officials, and while some were barely noticeable, others have caused significant damage.
For example, the 2011 tsunami that devastated Japan also caused $100 million in damage to California's harbors and coastlines.
While the most destructive tsunami on record occurred on March 28, 1964, with waves reaching 21 feet high, following a magnitude 9.2 earthquake in Alaska.
And that's not all, because due to the heat wave currently sweeping the Pacific Northwest, a 2.7 magnitude ice quake was recorded in Alaska at the end of June, the result of melting glaciers.
Thus, the USG released a series of interactive maps for several counties in the state as part of its project to determine the tsunami hazard area for the entire coast.
For the Bay Area, maps were deployed in San Mateo, Alameda and Monterey counties, which allow users to insert an address to determine if the property is subject to potential tsunami inundation.
This project updates maps produced in 2009 with new data from improved computer models that show how far inland a surge of water could reach in the event of a tsunami.
Maps indicate that along the outer coast of San Mateo County, the biggest change is in Half Moon Bay, where seawater could cross State Highway 1 through much of the northern community of Arroyo Leon.
According to map updates, in a worst-case tsunami scenario, major areas of Alameda, Oakland and Berkeley could also be inundated to an elevation of nearly 20 feet.
"After 10 years of research in the wake of the Tohoku-Oki earthquake and tsunami in Japan, we are releasing maps with many improvements to keep Californians safe," said Dr. Steve Bohlen.
Maps, available at https://www.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/tsunami/, are also being updated for Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano and Sonoma counties.
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