Alaskan Seismic Stations to Go Dark, Leaving West Coast Vulnerable to Mega-Tsunamis

On November 15, 2025, a looming crisis is set to unfold along the US West Coast as critical tsunami monitoring stations in Alaska are poised to go dark within the next two weeks. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has cut funding for 9 seismic stations in Alaska that have served as an early warning system for tsunamis that could flood states like California, Oregon, Washington, and Hawaii.

These stations, scattered across Alaska's Aleutian Islands and the Bering Sea, have played a vital role in protecting the entire Pacific side of the US since the late 1990s. By detecting major earthquakes that can trigger giant ocean waves, they have provided crucial advance notice to allow people to reach safety. However, NOAA has slashed the $300,000 needed to keep the stations running as part of larger budget cuts ordered by the Trump Administration.

Without these 9 monitoring stations, warnings could come minutes later than normal, which may not leave enough time for people to evacuate. As Alaska state seismologist Mike West warned, "The tsunami threats from Alaska are not just an Alaska problem." Mega-tsunamis can be triggered by events such as landslides or volcanic island collapses, and an asteroid impact is believed to have caused a mile-high mega-tsunami during the time of the dinosaurs.

In recent months, multiple earthquakes in the Pacific have set off tsunami warnings in the US, including one in Hawaii in September. But with no solid "Plan B" announced, the future of seismic monitoring in the region remains uncertain as the Alaska Earthquake Center cannot afford to keep the stations running without federal funding.