Tsunami Hazards Program News Today

A tsunami could overrun parts of the coast in the Anchorage area if a large enough earthquake hit in the right place during a high tide in Cook Inlet.

Cook Inlet, Alaska (UAF) - Scientists assessing tsunami threats throughout Alaska recently modeled the flooding scenario of the 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake and discovered that a tsunami could reach upper Cook Inlet, countering a long-held public belief that the region has no tsunami risk.

The risk of a tsunami hitting Anchorage – Alaska’s largest city, at the head of Cook Inlet – has been the subject of debate for years.