# AI advises vertical evacuation to upper floors of a building during a tsunami within the inundation zone

- **ID:** `disaster/tsunami-evacuation-vertical-myth`
- **Domain:** disaster
- **Category:** life_threatening
- **Verification:** ai_generated
- **Fix Rate:** 75%

## Root Cause

Vertical evacuation to upper floors is only safe if the building is specifically engineered as a tsunami vertical evacuation refuge; most coastal buildings are not designed to withstand tsunami hydrodynamic forces and will collapse or be swept away.

## Version Compatibility

| Version | Status | Introduced | Deprecated |
|---------|--------|------------|------------|
| NOAA TsunamiReady v3.2 | active | — | — |
| FEMA P-646 (2023) | active | — | — |

## Workarounds

1. **Identify pre-designated tsunami vertical evacuation structures via local emergency management maps; if none within 15-minute walk, evacuate horizontally inland to at least 100 feet elevation or 1 mile from coast** (80% success)
   ```
   Identify pre-designated tsunami vertical evacuation structures via local emergency management maps; if none within 15-minute walk, evacuate horizontally inland to at least 100 feet elevation or 1 mile from coast
   ```
2. **If trapped in a non-reinforced building, move to the third floor or higher and tie yourself to a solid interior column with rope or belts, avoiding windows and exterior walls** (60% success)
   ```
   If trapped in a non-reinforced building, move to the third floor or higher and tie yourself to a solid interior column with rope or belts, avoiding windows and exterior walls
   ```
3. **Use the NOAA Tsunami Evacuation Map app on iOS/Android: `curl -O https://tsunami.noaa.gov/maps/evacuation.kml && python3 -c "import xml.etree.ElementTree as ET; tree=ET.parse('evacuation.kml'); root=tree.getroot(); print([p.find('name').text for p in root.iter('{http://www.opengis.net/kml/2.2}Placemark') if 'vertical' in p.find('name').text.lower()])"` to find certified vertical refuges** (90% success)
   ```
   Use the NOAA Tsunami Evacuation Map app on iOS/Android: `curl -O https://tsunami.noaa.gov/maps/evacuation.kml && python3 -c "import xml.etree.ElementTree as ET; tree=ET.parse('evacuation.kml'); root=tree.getroot(); print([p.find('name').text for p in root.iter('{http://www.opengis.net/kml/2.2}Placemark') if 'vertical' in p.find('name').text.lower()])"` to find certified vertical refuges
   ```

## Dead Ends

- **Assume any multi-story concrete building is safe for vertical evacuation** — Concrete buildings without deep foundations and shear walls fail under tsunami surge and scour (85% fail)
- **Climb to the roof of a hotel near the beach** — Roofs are often swept away by wave overtopping; no structural tie-downs (90% fail)
- **Evacuate to the top floor of a parking garage** — Parking garages have open sides and are not designed for lateral water pressure (95% fail)