While most associate the threat of tsunami with significant earthquakes and volcanic activity around the Ring of Fire in the Pacific, many aren’t familiar with the threat of tsunami along the U.S. East Coast and adjacent coastal areas. To increase awareness and preparation and to help with insurance premiums related to tsunami dangers, the city of Cape Canaveral, Florida is undergoing TsunamiReady Certification that should be complete in 2026.

TsunamiReady is a voluntary, community-based program managed by the  U.S. National Weather Service  that helps coastal communities become better prepared for tsunamis through education, planning, and establishing warning systems, ensuring they meet specific guidelines to protect lives and property. While the process doesn’t make a town  “tsunami-proof”, it does involve creating 24/7 warning points, multiple alert methods, local monitoring, public education, and evacuation plans, all coordinated with emergency managers and the public.

Cape Canaveral is known for two things: home to the U.S. space industry and a growing cruise port. Known as America’s “Space Coast”, Cape Canaveral is home to the Kennedy Space Center, a major hub for NASA’s human spaceflight, featuring rocket launches and visitor attractions like the Space Shuttle Atlantis exhibit. It also serves as the launching point for SpaceX, ULA, and Blue Origin and their endeavors to bring commercial and government missions to space.  The Space Coast is also the launching point for many family cruise vacations;  this year, the Cape Canaveral port became the most trafficked cruise port in the United States, unseating Miami some weeks for the title. Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Disney, MSC, Norwegian, Carnival, and Princess Cruises all home port there.

Tsunamis are giant waves caused by earthquakes or volcanic eruptions under the sea. Out in the depths of the ocean, tsunami waves do not dramatically increase in height. But as the waves travel towards land, they build up to higher and higher heights as the depth of the ocean decreases. The speed of tsunami waves depends on ocean depth rather than the distance from the source of the wave. Tsunami waves may travel as fast as jet planes over deep waters, only slowing down when reaching shallow waters. While tsunamis are often referred to as tidal waves, this name is discouraged by oceanographers because tides have little to do with these giant waves.

In an update on their tsunami preparations, the City of Cape Canaveral wrote, “While certainly rare, a tsunami is possible in the Atlantic Ocean, occurring several times in recorded history. A tsunami threat to Florida’s east coast would most likely be generated from somewhere in the Caribbean or off the coast of Europe or Africa in locations prone to earthquakes and volcanoes.” They also add, “…unlike hurricanes, there is no “season” for tsunamis. They can happen at any time. Depending on a tsunami’s origin point, there would be anywhere from one to twelve hours of warning time.”

Cape Canaveral says that is a Tsunami Warning were ever issued, a best practice would be to:

• – Leave the beach immediately and remain out of the water in the coming days as strong, dangerous currents may still be present.
• – Move west of Ridgewood Avenue until the all-clear is given that the threat has passed, or move to a second floor if possible.
• – If you’re in a boat, go out to sea where it is safer, as tsunamis are only a few inches tall in the open ocean.

Cape Canaveral also says that even with a substantial tsunami coming, an evacuation of the entire area may not be necessary. They say, “Unlike their much more powerful Pacific cousins, tsunamis generated in the Atlantic tend to be smaller in size. The topography of the adjacent ocean floor, combined with the City’s large vegetative dune system, would serve to significantly reduce impacts. Even waves modeled at over ten feet in height would struggle to reach as far west as State Road A1A.”

Local residents can sign up for tsunami alerts and alerts for other important situations from the  Brevard County Emergency Management by texting BREVARDEOC to 888777  to sign up for alerts from Brevard County Emergency Management, or subscribe through their website.

In addition to getting the community prepared for future tsunami threats, this effort by Cape Canaveral also has one possible immediate benefit. By being TsunamiReady certified, Cape Canaveral could obtain a better rating with the National Flood Insurance Program’s Community Rating System. An improved rating there leads to lower flood insurance premiums for residents there.