r/IAmA • u/WaQuakePrepare • Oct 19 '22

We're Pacific NW U.S. earthquake experts ready to talk about tsunamis, earthquake early warning and more Science

EDIT: We are pretty much done! Thanks everyone for the great questions. We have some folks that could check in later if we didn’t get to your question or if you discover us later today but the answers won’t be right away. Remember no matter where you are, we invite you to drop, cover and hold on at 10:20 am Thursday. Learn more at shakeout.org

Oct. 20 is the Great ShakeOut, where millions of people across the country practice earthquake safety and drop, cover and hold on under a sturdy object. Today, we have experts in Washington state and Oregon talking about ShakeOut, earthquakes and we can even touch on Pacific Northwest volcanoes. For instance, did you now it’s possible to now get a warning on your phone before an earthquake strikes? It’s called the ShakeAlert Earthquake Early Warning System.

We are a team with a variety of expertise particularly in the Pacific Northwest including: earthquakes (science/physics, monitoring, protective actions, preparedness), tsunamis (tsunami safety, hazards, modeling, preparedness, and recovery), structural engineering/building performance and emergency preparedness.

PROOF HERE. More proof here.

From Washington Emergency Management Division:

Brian Terbush

Elyssa Tappero

Mark Pierepiekarz, P.E., S.E.

Hollie Stark

Dante DiSabatino

From Pacific Northwest Seismic Network:

Bill Steele

Dr. Renate Hartog

Dr. Alex Hutko

From Washington Department of Natural Resources (Washington Geological Survey):

Corina Allen

Daniel Eungard

From Simpson Strong-Tie (Structural Products and Solutions including Earthquake Retrofits):

Emory Montague, S.E.

From Oregon Office of Emergency Management:

Althea Rizzo

3.9k Upvotes

93% Upvoted

View all comments

Show parent comments

69

u/Excusemytootie Oct 19 '22

Cannon Beach will be a mess. It has become so overcrowded by tourists in the last 10 years. There is almost always a big traffic jam and people driving around looking for parking spots when the weather is even remotely nice, and sometimes even when it’s not. I would imagine that a lot of people won’t be able to make it to the safe zone in time.

27

u/Firebrat Oct 19 '22

Yeah that was my main thought - the road would be gridlocked, making it impossible to get to high ground in time unless you have a motorcycle. But if it's actually going to be a shit show shouldn't the state be stepping in to do something? Like widening the road from the town to the high water area?

109

u/WaQuakePrepare Oct 19 '22

This gridlock is why we emphasize pedestrian evacuation for tsunamis, especially local ones. If the roads are passable (big emphasis on IF) we want to leave them open for first responders and people who physically can't evacuate on foot. It's a work in progress, lots of people assume they'll drive... but we're trying! And in places where even pedestrian evacuation isn't enough we're building artificial high ground in the form of vertical evacuation towers. Washington has 2, Oregon has 1, and we're working to build more all the time.

- Elyssa

17

u/Firebrat Oct 19 '22

I did not know about the towers - that's encouraging to hear the government is actually trying to improve things!

4

u/Use_The_Sauce Oct 20 '22

Everyone is going to get in their car, I guarantee it.

2

u/snarky_spice Oct 20 '22

Is there anything we can do to help fund these towers?

9

u/Jindabyne1 Oct 19 '22

Reminds me of Elijah Wood in Deep Impact

4

u/MrDeckard Oct 19 '22

They need to build a series of backwards waterslides so people can slip away to safety when the water hits and at least save someone

5

u/Excusemytootie Oct 19 '22

Hopefully it’s in the works.

9

u/goldsoundzz Oct 19 '22

That’s a bummer to hear. I used to go there every summer when I was a kid. Moved to another country a long time ago and had kids. I have really wanted to bring them there someday to experience it but I’ve heard it’s not really the same anymore.

2

u/the_hardest_part Oct 19 '22

I was there for the first time this summer. It was ok. Not great, but not bad.

2

u/chase98584 Oct 20 '22

Man don’t say that I will be there in two weeks. You are spot on with over crowdedness. Family had a house there since around the 50s and today compared to even 15 years ago or less is crazy. Takes an hour to get through seaside!

2

u/The_Wizeguy Oct 20 '22

Off season plus incoming rain. You'll be fine.

1

u/chase98584 Oct 21 '22

Yeah I am not worried about it was just saying it’s way busier