From Long Beach To Santa Monica, Tsunami Map Outlines Threat To LA County Residents

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) - Experts say a large tsunami could one day flood sizeable areas of Marina del Rey and Long Beach to an elevation of 15 feet, potentially threatening homes and lives.

Officials Monday released an interactive tsunami map for Los Angeles County
that allows users to determine whether their property is within a hazard zone.

The map, according to the California Geological Survey, uses new data and improved computer modeling to update details on how far inland a surge of seawater could travel.

Using the data, officials will also be able to easily communicate evacuation plans beyond the modeled inundation area as a safeguard, officials said.

Several communities have been advised about their increased inundation areas, including in Alamitos Bay, Marina del Rey, and the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles.

"Flood levels for the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach could reach elevations of 12 to 15 feet, which would inundate almost all of the land in the ports and some of the surrounding communities," Rick Wilson, head of the CGS Tsunami Program, said.

If both ports were shut down for one day, the economic loss to the county would be over $1 billion, Wilson added.

And it's not just earthquakes that can pose a threat: tsunamis can also be caused by landslides, volcanic activity, certain types of weather and asteroids or comets that impact the earth surface, according to Wilson.

Click here to check out the LA County Tsunami Hazard Area Map.