Is Key West vulnerable to tsunamis?

Located in the Straights of Florida, The Keys are not is a high earthquake zone. However there is some chance albeit slim of an earthquake generating a Tsunami from either the Gulf of Mexico or from the Cuban side of the straight. read more

Tsunamis are more likely to be generated in the Mid Atlantic Rift or from off of the coast of Africa. If they were generated from either of those locations the Bahama Bank would offer much protection to Keys from the East and Cuba would protect from the South. read more

Our resident tsunami expert, "Tsunami Jon" Rizzo, is the Warning Coordination Meteorologist at National Weather Service Key West. He graciously agreed to help us put the recent horrific earthquake in Haiti into perspective for the Florida Keys. read more

Actually the region is quite vulnerable to high magnitude quakes and even tsunamis. There was a magnitude 9.2 earthquake in the Gulf of Alaska in 1964, which caused a 42-foot-high tsunami that had spread to the coast of British Columbia, Washington, Oregon and into northern California. read more