They could even help people on the U.S. West Coast after an earthquake on the Cascadia fault, which lies minutes away in tsunami travel time. Though minutes of warning may not be enough in all cases, NOAA's Frank Gonzalez, the scientist heading the sensor project, still thinks the buoys are better than nothing. 27K. You will need the free Flash plug-in to view this animation. So old-fashioned legwork still is the best defense against a tsunami. Because the height and inland reach of tsunamis can vary so much from one place to another along a coastline, it's not always so obvious.
Scientists launch computer-simulated tsunamis at a digital representation of a coastline.
This enables them to predict when the tsunami waves will hit the coast, how high they will be, and how far inland they will reach. Local officials use the maps to plan evacuation routes and guide zoning decisions.