GENEVA, 1 November 2017 – A review of tsunami hazards over the last 400 years highlights “seismic gaps” or locations in the Pacific region where there may be complacency about the tsunami threat following long periods of seismic inactivity. 

Professor Fumihiko Imamura, lead author of the academic paper*, from the International Research Institute of Disaster Science, Tohoku University, said: “We have conducted a global tsunami hazard assessment for low tsunami risk areas, based on a 400-year database which allows insight into past and potential future tsunamis based on seismic gaps which are earthquake faults active in the past but now quiet. 

“Our research focussed on the Pacific and we have simulated 18 possible major events which demonstrate the tsunami risk for the Aleutian Islands in Alaska, Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Philippines, New Zealand, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia. 

“In the case of New Zealand we have demonstrated that it is potentially vulnerable to locally generated tsunamis despite past records being exclusively limited to tsunamis generated from distant locations such as Chile.