Study: 10,000 could die in big NW quake, tsunami
SALEM, Ore. (AP) - More than 10,000 people could die when - not if - a monster earthquake and tsunami occur just off the Pacific Northwest coast, a new study predicts.
Coastal towns would be inundated. Schools, buildings and bridges would collapse, and economic damage could hit $32 billion.
The chilling report by the Oregon Seismic Safety Policy Advisory Commission was presented Thursday to Oregon legislators.
In 2011, the Legislature authorized the study of what would happen if a quake and tsunami such as the one that devastated Japan hit the Pacific Northwest.
The Cascadia Subduction Zone, just off the regional coastline, produced a megaquake in the year 1700. Seismic experts say another monster quake and tsunami are overdue.
"This earthquake will hit us again," Kent Yu, an engineer and chair of the commission, told legislators. "It's just a matter of how soon."
When it hits, the report says, there will be devastation and death from Northern California to British Columbia.
Many Oregon communities will be left without water, power, heat and telephone service. Gasoline supplies will be disrupted.
The 2011 Japan quake and tsunami were a wake-up call for the Pacific Northwest. Governments have been taking a closer look at whether the region is prepared for something similar and discovering it is not.
Oregon legislators requested the study so they could better inform themselves about what needs to be done to prepare and recover from such a giant natural disaster.
The report says that geologically, Oregon and Japan are mirror images. Despite the devastation in Japan, that country was more prepared than Oregon because it had spent billions on technology to reduce the damage, the report says.
Jay Wilson, who works for the Clackamas County emergency management department and is vice chair of the commission, visited Japan and said he was profoundly affected as he walked through villages ravaged by the tsunami.
"It was just as if these communities were ghost towns and for the most part there was nothing left," he said.
Wilson told legislators that there was a similar event 313 years ago in the Pacific Northwest, and "we're well within the window for it to happen again"
Coastal towns would be inundated. Schools, buildings and bridges would collapse, and economic damage could hit $32 billion.
The chilling report by the Oregon Seismic Safety Policy Advisory Commission was presented Thursday to Oregon legislators.
In 2011, the Legislature authorized the study of what would happen if a quake and tsunami such as the one that devastated Japan hit the Pacific Northwest.
The Cascadia Subduction Zone, just off the regional coastline, produced a megaquake in the year 1700. Seismic experts say another monster quake and tsunami are overdue.
"This earthquake will hit us again," Kent Yu, an engineer and chair of the commission, told legislators. "It's just a matter of how soon."
When it hits, the report says, there will be devastation and death from Northern California to British Columbia.
Many Oregon communities will be left without water, power, heat and telephone service. Gasoline supplies will be disrupted.
The 2011 Japan quake and tsunami were a wake-up call for the Pacific Northwest. Governments have been taking a closer look at whether the region is prepared for something similar and discovering it is not.
Oregon legislators requested the study so they could better inform themselves about what needs to be done to prepare and recover from such a giant natural disaster.
The report says that geologically, Oregon and Japan are mirror images. Despite the devastation in Japan, that country was more prepared than Oregon because it had spent billions on technology to reduce the damage, the report says.
Jay Wilson, who works for the Clackamas County emergency management department and is vice chair of the commission, visited Japan and said he was profoundly affected as he walked through villages ravaged by the tsunami.
"It was just as if these communities were ghost towns and for the most part there was nothing left," he said.
Wilson told legislators that there was a similar event 313 years ago in the Pacific Northwest, and "we're well within the window for it to happen again"
A huge earthquake with hit the Pacific Northwest (Seattle) in less than a month....so saith the Lord.8.5,so saith the
Lord God Almighty! In my son name the Lord Jesus Christs name amen and amen.
                                                                         "SO SAITH THE LORD"!
Damned if you do, Damned if you don't. Â If you don't build it, people will bitch.. Â If you build it and nothing happens, people will bitch. Â
Just another example of why being prepared for devastating natural disasters just makes sense. Being prepared includes ownership and having excellent operational knowledge of an AR-15 with a minimum 500 round supply of ammunition and enough ready magazines to keep the roaming masses of looters at bay.
In other words, when that baby hits, we're all toast!
We better ban tsunamis.Â
Don't worry, our government is here to protect you. Â They are in the process of putting together plans for a giant chain link fence to stop the tsunami...
The 2011 earthquake itself hardly killed anyone in Japan. I think there were a couple of fatalities from falling debris in the city of Sendai. Almost every single one of the deaths resulted from the tsunamis. The only real difference is that some coastal towns in Washington/Oregon are partially protected by cliffs/escarpments. Others are not. Â
I would expect low-lying towns like Waldport or much of the Coos Bay area to simply drown. 10,000 is a lowball estimate; I wouldn't be surprised by 50,000 or more from tsunamis and another several thousand from quake damage.
Brick buildings are the most dangerous and should be replaced. they won't be standing after a 9 anyway. i don't know if living in the big cities are safe either. many structures and bridges will also collapse killing and trapping many. afterwords there will be looting and months without normal living. two years later in Japan 300,000 people are still displaced with almost 19,000 people dead from the quake and tsunami.Â
That is why I don't live in Ocean shores any more.
@Exiled_Patriot You mean Open Sores, right?
There'll be a whole lota shaken!
10,000 would be in the first day of the NW quake/tsunami. The aftermath would have thousands more dying due to lack of preparation. I am not saying anyone needs to have months worth of supplies but if the water supply is knocked out in Seattle or Portland it will take only days for more people to start dying. If people are forced to drink dirty water there will be huge cases of dysentery quickly leading to dehydration. Add to that a lack of food and people will be stealing from their neighbors that are better prepared. Look at what happened in New Orleans during Katrina and that was just a day or two of being isolated. The NW is much more geographically isolated then New Orleans. Aide in the form of food supplies and clean water will take much longer to reach the NW in sizable amounts to make a difference. Our society has too long relied upon the government to take care of us and we continue to vote more and more lawmakers into office that purposely increases the need of the people to rely upon government. A very bad combination considering the track record our government has in taking care of people in disaster zones.
Tsunami Shnutsuami! I say we build a really deep tunnel. Right under downtown Seattle!
@dorimonsonfan Call it "The Big Flush".