THE U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY SAYS IT IS UNLIKELY THAT THE COAST OF CALIFORNIA WILL SEE A TSUNAMI, LIKE THE ONE THAT HAS KILLED TENS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE IN SOUTHEAST ASIA. OF COURSE NO ONE CAN PREDICT SUCH AN EVENT, BUT GEOLOGISTS SAY THERE IS ONLY A 5 PERCENT CHANCE THAT A TIDAL WAVE WILL STRIKE THE UNITED STATES WITHIN THE NEXT 30 YEARS. LOW-LYING COASTAL AREAS ARE THE MOST VULNERABLE THOUGH, AND WOULD RELY ON EARLY WARNING. THE TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEM (IN THE PACIFIC), COMPRISES OF 26 PARTICIPATING INTERNATIONAL MEMBER STATES, AND HAS STATIONS THROUGHOUT THE PACIFIC BASIN TO MONITOR EVENTS AND DISSEMINATE TSUNAMI WARNING INFORMATION. THE PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER'S OPERATIONAL CENTER IS LOCATED NEAR HONOLULU, HAWAII. IT PROVIDES TSUNAMI WARNING INFORMATION TO NATIONAL AUTHORITIES IN THE PACIFIC BASIN.