Tsunami-tide interaction in 1964 Prince William Sound tsunami

► We study a trans-oceanic tsunami event with an efficient unstructured grid model. ► Study area includes 3 US states, with high resolution in major rivers and estuaries. ► Hi-resolution LIDAR-based DEMs are shown to be essential for the inundation study. ► The model errors are carefully assessed with various types of field observations. ► Tide-tsunami interaction is solely responsible for inundation in some estuaries.