Tsunami inundation maps for King Cove and Cold Bay communities, Alaska

Potential tsunami hazards for the Alaska Peninsula communities of King Cove and Cold Bay were evaluated by numerically modeling the extent of inundation from tsunami waves generated by hypothetical earthquake sources and taking into account historical observations. Worst-case hypothetical scenarios are defined by analyzing the tsunami dynamics related to various slip distributions along the Aleutian megathrust. Our results show that the worst-case scenarios for King Cove and Cold Bay are thrust earthquakes in the western Alaska Peninsula region, with magnitudes ranging from Mw 8.9 to Mw 9.3, which have their greatest slip at 10-20 km (6-12 mi) depth. We also consider Tohoku-type ruptures and an outer-rise rupture in the western Alaska Peninsula area. Results presented here are intended to provide guidance to local emergency management agencies in tsunami inundation assessment, evacuation planning, and public education to mitigate future tsunami hazards.