Alaska on Edge: The Tsunami Threat No One’s Talking About

 

Locked away in the expansive wilderness and frozen seascapes, Alaska has a soothing atmosphere of remoteness. But hidden behind its frozen waters and the look of snow-topped mountains, there is something that stirs—something possibly disastrous. While global attention is focused on tropical hurricanes and the San Andreas Fault in California, another threat is brewing silently: the threat of an Alaska tsunami.

This isn't science fiction or doomsday speculation. It's a genuine, scientific potential supported by seismologists and climatologists—and it's much closer than most people know. And yet, astonishingly, it is one of the most neglected natural threats to the United States.

Why Alaska Is a Hotspot for Tsunamis

To gain an understanding of Alaska's tsunami risk, we must first examine why Alaska is particularly well-suited to become a breeding ground for tsunamis. The state is located above the Pacific Ring of Fire, a horseshoe-shaped area around the Pacific Ocean where most of the world's earthquakes and volcanoes erupt.

It is bounded on its southern rim by the Aleutian Trench, where the Pacific Plate is moving under the North American Plate. This is one of the world's most active tectonic plate boundaries and is the source of some of the most powerful earthquakes to have hit North America.

The most notorious example? The 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake was a magnitude 9.2 giant, still the second-largest earthquake in recorded history anywhere in the world. It created enormous tsunamis that killed more than 130 people and traveled as far away as California and Hawaii.

But 1964 was only a single occurrence in a very long, geologic past of tsunamis. According to experts, it's not a question of "if" but "when" the next big one will hit.

The Landslide Time Bomb at Barry Arm

While suboceanic quakes are the typical tsunamis suspects, there's another peril more harrowing and less certain: glacial landslides.

60 miles outside of Anchorage is Barry Arm, a mountainous fjord in Prince William Sound. NASA and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) researchers have been studying a creeping landslide there—a gigantic chunk of rock sitting on the brink of tumbling into the water below.

The worry? If part of that slope were to fall into the fjord, it might create a megatsunami, sending waves hundreds of feet tall hurtling onto nearby coastlines in a matter of minutes.

It all came out in 2020 in a scientific report called "Landslide-Generated Tsunami Hazard in Barry Arm, Alaska." The scientists explained that the landslide "may collapse suddenly and unexpectedly," threatening local populations, tourists, and commercial facilities.

If the slope fails during the height of tourist season, boats, ferries, and coastal communities would be decimated. 

Tsunami Risks in Plain Sight

When we say "tsunami," most people think of ocean waves in open water or sensational video from Japan or Indonesia. But in Alaska, tsunamis can be caused by localized sources and arrive within minutes, without warning or evacuation time.

The following are just a few of the myriad examples that attest to the validity of the Alaska tsunami threat:

• 1958 Lituya Bay Mega-Tsunami: This was caused by a landslide from an earthquake and had a staggering height of 1,720 feet—the highest ever recorded. Trees were removed from hillsides like matchsticks, and a boat which had been moored within the bay was hurled like a toy.
• 2015 Taan Fiord Event: A record 600-foot wave resulted from a huge rockfall into a glacial fjord. Although it happened in an unpopulated region, it woke up the world to what can occur in denser places.
• Permafrost and Climate Change: Rising temperatures are destabilizing Alaska's permafrost, making landslides more likely and the rock foundation of steep coastal cliffs weaker. The more the ice melts, the more unstable the land is.

In short, the Alaska tsunami threat is evolving, moving from merely geological to a mix of climate and tectonic drivers.

Why No One’s Talking About It

You’d think a threat of this magnitude would be a national conversation. But there are a few reasons why the Alaska tsunami threat remains under the radar:

1. Remote Location Bias: Alaska's low population density means disasters here often get less media attention unless they affect major cities.
2. Scientific Complexity: Forecasts of tsunamis, particularly from landslide events, are hard to predict. The uncertainty makes the danger more challenging to explain to the masses.
3. Competing Crises: Climate change, wildfires, and global pandemics make long-term geologic threats a secondary concern in people's minds.

But denial doesn't exclude it from happening. As the past demonstrates, Alaska's geologic clock is not headline-dependent.

How Ready Is Alaska?

The Alaska Earthquake Center and Palmer Tsunami Warning Center work around the clock to enhance early warning and community readiness. Sirens, warning systems, and evacuation maps are in place—but are they sufficient?

For earthquakes under the ocean, the National Tsunami Warning Center can send out warnings in a matter of minutes. But for local occurrences such as landslides or glacial failures, there may not be time to alert.

Some cities, such as Seward and Valdez, practice regular tsunami drills. Smaller villages and resort towns might not be so prepared, however.

This is particularly relevant since tourism in Alaska is booming. Cruise ships, kayakers, and fishing vessels regularly throng the very fjords most vulnerable.

Climate Change: A Silent Multiplier

The Alaska tsunami risk is not only geological but also climatological. Warming oceans, melting glaciers, and thawing permafrost enhance the risk of landslides and submarine sediment failures.

Indeed, scientists think that climate change is generating new tsunamis that didn't previously exist a couple of decades ago. When glaciers recede, they leave behind steep, unstable slopes—setting them up to collapse.

Imagine this: A glacier melts, revealing a decades-softened cliff. Summer rain puts on the extra load. Then a small earthquake, even a magnitude 4, gives it a tiny push. Boom—megatsunami.

It's a game of dominoes, and climate change is nudging the first domino.

Why You Should Care—Even If You Don't Live in Alaska

You may be thinking, "I don't live in Alaska. I don't need to worry."

Here's why:

• Shipping and Energy Infrastructure: The ports and oil terminals of Alaska are vital to the American economy. A tsunami would sever supply chains and oil production.
• Tourism: More than 1.5 million tourists come to Alaska every year. Thousands of tourists could lose their lives in a major disaster and damage the industry in the long term.
• Ecological Impact: A big tsunami would destroy marine life, fisheries, and coastal ecosystems throughout the Pacific Northwest.
• Global Risk Patterns: What’s happening in Alaska could happen in Greenland, Norway, and other Arctic zones. Learning from Alaska can help us prepare globally.

What Can Be Done Now?

It’s not all doom and gloom. There are actionable steps communities, governments, and individuals can take:

1. Increase Monitoring: Satellite imagery and drones can help detect subtle movements in high-risk slopes.
2. Enhance Public Education: Visitors and locals must be informed about what to do when the sirens go off, or when there is no siren at all.
3. Infrastructure Planning: Coastal construction needs to include tsunami zoning and height.
4. Support Scientific Research: Increased funding for landslide modeling, climate effects studies, and community simulations is necessary.
5. Use Platforms Like Blogfuel: Blogs such as Blogfuel can increase awareness and bridge the gap between scientists and the public.

Conclusion: The Time to Talk Is Now

The Alaska tsunami danger is not trending. It's not in your morning news cycle. But it exists. It's developing. And it's approaching.

You may be a policymaker, tourist, student, or just someone who cares about the world. Either way, now is the time to listen up. Alaska might be the edge of the world, but what goes on there impacts us all.

And if the one thing the planet has consistently reminded us of is that nature doesn't wait for us to catch up.