LA avoided a bad tsunami this time. Here’s how to prepare for the next one and other disasters

2025 is not holding back. L.A. has lurched from devastating fires … to mud flows … to political and social upheaval … and now a tsunami?

Thankfully, we avoided the worst of the year’s latest fusillade: Tsunami waves arriving on Southern California coasts Wednesday morning were mild after a magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck eastern Russia on Tuesday and set off alerts around the Pacific Ocean.

But despite disaster movies showing skyscraper-size waves slamming into our coast, that’s an unlikely scenario here in Southern California.

Still, if and when it does happen here, potentially right off our coast, it’s likely we’ll have less than an hour to evacuate.

“People have to kind of keep in mind if they live near the coast that this is a hazard they're probably going to face maybe once or twice in their lifetime and when they happen, they have to take the right actions right away,” said Chip McCreery, director of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Honolulu on LAist’s AirTalk.

But each disaster reminds us — it’s always best to be prepared.

Now is the time to get ready for the next tsunami warning, as well as our more common and likely disasters, such as fires and earthquakes.

The good thing is, when you prepare for one, you’re a lot more prepared for any disaster.

Sign up for alerts

First off, confirm you’re signed up for emergency alerts in your area — and make sure alerts are enabled on your smartphone if you have one. Always pay attention to local weather forecasts, which are actually quite accurate these days and supported by robust science. And of course, know your trusted local news organizations who will be hard at work bringing you accurate information to keep you safe.

More alerts is generally better — “redundancy” as they say in emergency planning. And when it comes to tsunamis, tsunami.gov is the place to be to check in on all the latest updates and alerts.

Here’s how to sign up:

• LA County’s emergency alerts.
• Orange County emergency alerts.
• Many cities also have their own emergency alerts, so check your local city’s website. For example: 
  
  • Los Angeles.
  • Long Beach.
• Find all the alerts to sign up for in your area by visiting the state’s emergency website, where you can plug in your ZIP code. 
  
• The MyShake app and ShakeAlert notifies you of earthquakes.

Make sure you understand what different alerts mean, so you can prepare accordingly.

Southern California was first under a tsunami watch Tuesday evening. That was later upped to an advisory.

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Courtesy NOAA/NWS

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Know the risk in your area

The state’s office of emergency services has a handy tool to check all the hazards in your specific area — including earthquakes, fires, floods and tsunamis. The service is called “MyHazard.” Plug in your address, and it provides detailed information on the potential disasters in your neighborhood.

Be aware that even if you aren’t in the zones in these maps, disasters can go beyond these borders. It’s always good to have an understanding of the infrastructure in your particular neighborhood so you can make informed decisions when — and if — alerts go out.

Know your evacuation route

Many cities in tsunami-risk areas have planned evacuation routes. Generally, it’s a good rule of thumb to know how to get at least 100 feet above sea level quickly. Know a specific place to go and how exactly you’ll get there. Try to practice your route so you know it in the case of darkness or bad weather.

And talk to your neighbors. If you need assistance evacuating, try to ask ahead of time. And be sure to check on your neighbors who may need help. Emergency lines and first responders are often overwhelmed during disasters.

Keep a go-bag handy

Make sure you have a go-bag with essential medications, documents, battery-powered or crank radio and flashlight, water and food for kids and pets for a few days. Here’s more on how to prepare a go-bag and evacuate quickly.

Be prepared for power outages

During all kinds of disasters, the power often goes out. That means no water from the faucet, no working gas pumps at the gas station, and possibly no cellphone service. So what do you do in that situation, possibly for days or weeks?

Make sure you have bottled water, backup power, your car half full of gas or half charged at least, a manual way to open an electric garage door, and more. Be sure you think through your own and your loved ones’ specific needs — for example, do you use electric-powered medical equipment?

Our other emergency preparedness guides

• Every day is now fire season. Let's get you ready for the next wildfire burning near you
• Get ready for the Big One. What you need to know
• How to not get life-threatening diarrhea after a major earthquake
• 10 earthquake-related questions to ask your landlord immediately
• How to prepare for an earthquake if you have a disability