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Recognizing Earthquake and Tsunami Risk: “The Key is Preparation”

Recognizing Earthquake and Tsunami Risk: “The Key is Preparation”

 



Washington State Division of Emergency Management's Vertical Tsunami Evacuation Project Manager Dante DiSabatino presented an informational workshop on earthquake and tsunami preparedness to the Edmonds community Thursday evening.

More than 70 people participated in a public information session on Thursday to learn more about earthquake and tsunami risks and how to prepare for them.

The event, held Thursday evening at the Edmonds Waterfront Center, was led by Dante DiSabatino, Vertical Tsunami Evacuation Project Manager for the Washington State Division of Emergency Management. The session included general information about the risks and causes of these events, how to prepare for them and how the Edmonds community will feel about them.

For those who were unable to attend, the full session was recorded and is available on YouTube here.

“Washington is earthquake country,” DeSabatino began. “Our state has the second-highest risk of such events in the United States, behind only California.”

He went on to explain that the biggest risks to us in the Puget Sound area come from our proximity to the Cascadia subduction zone, a 700-mile-long fault just off the coast where the Juan de Fuca plate is sliding under the larger North American plate (shown in the slide below). This creates a buildup of stress that, when released, can cause earthquakes and tsunamis. The other two types of faults that worry Washington state are deep subduction-zone earthquakes and shallow crustal earthquakes, which are generally less intense but more common (shown in the slide below).

“Subduction zones are responsible for the largest earthquakes and tsunamis, but in the Cascadia Rift, historically these earthquakes occur at intervals of 300 to 600 years; the last one was in 1700, 324 years ago,” he explained. “Crastal faults tend to produce more frequent but less intense earthquakes, but because they are closer together we feel them more intensely. These faults have been responsible for some major local events, including the 2001 Nisqually earthquake.”

He then went on to explain some guidelines and good practices that can be used in the event of an earthquake.

“When you feel the shaking, or get an alert or hear a tsunami siren, the first thing you should do is lie down, take cover and hold on,” he advised. “Don’t go outside, stay away from buildings, stay in your car. If you’re at home in bed, put a pillow over your head.

“We can’t really predict earthquakes, but you can buy valuable seconds by lying down, covering up and holding on when you feel the shaking,” he explained. “You can also get alerts by adding apps like My Shake on iOS and Android. The alert may only come a few seconds before an earthquake strikes, but that’s enough time to lie down, cover up and hold on — and it could be a lifesaver.”

After moving on to tsunamis, Di Sabatino began by showing how tsunamis are formed and propagate.

“The wave is caused by a column of water moving upwards due to the subduction zone slipping,” he said. “It’s not a single wave, but a series of waves that can last up to 24 hours and bounce off the coast like waves in a bathtub – the patterns are very unpredictable, and very different from regular ocean waves. Instead of a series of waves that break on the shore at fairly regular intervals, a tsunami is like a fast, powerful wall of water that is better described as a moving wall of concrete.”

He then explains the differences between tsunamis generated by the Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ) and the more proximal Seattle Fault Zone (SFZ), focusing on how the effects would be felt in Edmonds.

He said it could take up to three hours for waves generated by a JSZ event to reach Edmonds as they travel from the epicenter to the coast, through the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and into the Puget Sound Basin — and while they have lost some of their power, they still have the potential to damage infrastructure and buildings.

In contrast, waves generated along the San Francisco Bay area could reach Edmonds within 10 to 15 minutes, potentially flooding large parts of the waterfront and downtown and causing significant damage (see chart below).

“Remember that while the earthquake itself may only last a few minutes, the tsunami waves can last for several hours. And be aware that debris from as far away as the outer coast – boats, pieces of houses, etc. – can be swept up by the wave and possibly carried here,” he added.

He then talked about how to know a tsunami is coming.

“The first sign of this is some shaking, and you may hear a tsunami siren if you are near the waterfront. If you have an alert app on your phone, it may go off. The water may quickly recede from the shores – but don’t chase it because it will come back as a fast-moving wall with the tsunami wave,” he said.

“When things like this happen, head to higher ground on foot to avoid traffic, downed power lines or impassable roads,” he advised. “But a good time to prepare is before the event by packing emergency bags with food and other essentials you can take while heading to higher ground, making a family plan so you have a predetermined place to find each other in case you get separated, securing bookcases and other heavy items that might fall on you or family members before you head out of the house, and talking to neighbors about preparing as a community.”

DiSabatino concluded the session by reminding attendees to register and participate in the upcoming Great Washington Shake Out exercise on Oct. 17 at 10:17 a.m., when all 122 tsunami sirens — including the one on the Edmonds waterfront — will sound and participants will practice earthquake and tsunami safety procedures.

“It’s the largest earthquake/tsunami drill in the world,” he explained. “Last year, 1.4 million Washingtonians participated. If you do nothing else, this is a great opportunity to practice landing, sheltering and holding on.”

You can find more information on how to alert, prepare and notify at the following links:

mil.wa.gov/Alerts

mil.wa.gov/preparedness

mil.wa.gov/tsunami

—Story and photos by Larry Vogel

Sources

1/ https://Google.com/

2/ https://myedmondsnews.com/2024/09/learning-about-earthquake-and-tsunami-risks-the-key-is-being-prepared/

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