San Francisco

Chile Quake Spurs Bay Area Cities to Review Tsunami Preparedness

San Francisco's emergency managers were awake through early hours Thursday monitoring a tsunami advisory for California's coastline after a magnitude-8.3 earthquake struck off the coast of Chile the night before.

"We were on statewide conference calls every two hours, refining models from buoy measurements for how high the rise was going to be," said Bijan Karimi with the San Francisco Emergency Management Department.

In the event tsunami waves were to hit the Bay Area, San Francisco maps show the outer Sunset and Marina districts would see flooding. In addition, the maps show parts of the Financial District and China Basin would be flooded.

In 2011, a tsunami from Japan swept across the Pacific, damaging Santa Cruz harbor and causing a noticeable rise in the San Francisco Bay.

Now, along Marina Boulevard and Ocean Beach, the city has posted tsunami warning signs and is ready to issue alerts by sending to residents' cell phones.

"We can connect with any cell phone, whether you're a resident or a guest with specific information on where to go and what to do," Karimi said.

Officials say, in the event of a tsunami, it could take 72 hours before first responders arrive, so plan accordingly.

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