Columbia, SC (WLTX) — Monday was World Tsunami Awareness Day. Tsunamis do not happen often, but when it does, it can devastate coastal communities. The risk of a tsunami in South Carolina is low, but areas along the coast still must to be prepared.
If you have ever spent time along the coast of South Carolina, you may have seen the tsunami evacuation zone signs. The odds are small, but communities along the coast have to be tsunami-ready just in case the seismic event were to occur.
Dr. Tom Owens is a professor at USC, he along with his team monitors earthquake activity in South Carolina.
Owens said, "We do have a history of earthquakes and it's important to keep track of what's going on and make sure we are aware of any changes."
South Carolina does have a low risk of being impacted by a tsunami, but according to Owens the earthquake that would spark the tsunami would have to occur in certain areas for the waves to hit the coast.
He said, "In other areas, the Caribbean, is a place that could generate earthquakes that would give us a small tsunami in South Carolina. Portugal, believe it or not, there was an earthquake there in 1755 that caused a big tsunami throughout the East Coast and the Caribbean."
According to South Carolina's Tsunami Response Plan, tsunamis have also been recorded along the East Coast in 1884, 1886 and 1929.
"It is something that emergency management division people are aware of and have plans for. We would in most cases have some advanced notice and they would get the word out," said Owens.
Owens said he would not lose any sleep over the small risk of a tsunami, but it does not hurt to be ready for any type of disaster.
According to Owens, "The same reason we prepare for hurricanes. Hurricanes happen a little more often, in terms of big ones around here, but it is important to have a plan in place for those and for earthquakes and other natural hazards."
According to the National Weather Service, 48 tsunami events have caused about $300 billion in damage worldwide since 2000.
The deadliest tsunami on record occurred the day after Christmas in 2004. The Indian Ocean earthquake triggered a series of tsunamis that killed nearly 228,000 people. Some researchers estimate the Boxing Day Tsunami's waves reached heights of 100 feet in places.