9 East Coast Communities Ready for Atlantic Tsunami

MIDWAY, Ga. — While tsunamis are primarily considered a threat on the Pacific Coast, emergency officials are paying closer attention to the potential for killer waves on the Atlantic Coast since the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that killed more than 200,000 people in 11 countries.

The government’s West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center now watches out for the East Coast as well. A tsunami-detection buoy monitors for sudden changes in sea level 320 miles off Charleston, S.C.

And a few local governments along the East Coast, including Liberty County, Ga., have enrolled in a National Weather Service program to prepare for the remote chance of killer waves spawning in the Atlantic.

“There is a possibility, though a very slight possibility,” said Tom Burris, emergency management director for Liberty County. “Just like a hurricane, you can talk until you’re blue in the face and people will say it ain’t going to happen here.”

On Jan. 9, Liberty County became only the ninth community on the eastern seaboard to be certified by the Weather Service as officially ready to respond to tsunamis, tidal waves caused by earthquakes or rock slides under the sea.

Also certified are Indian Harbour Beach, Fla.; Onslow County, N.C.; Norfolk, Va.; and five South Carolina communities — Charleston County, Horry County, Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach and Surfside Beach.

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