Dr. Jonathan Allan, PhD, from the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries (DOGMI), will discuss his organization’s new “Beat the Wave” project Wednesday, March 6, at 1 p.m. at the Pine Grove Community House in Manzanita.
The study is designed to determine how much time people in the Nehalem Bay region would have to escape to safety after an earthquake, where they would need to go, and how fast they would have to travel to get there safely.
A large-scale Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake is expected to generate a disastrous tsunami. Coastal residents and visitors might only have 10-20 minutes to reach safety, and the only way to get there would be on foot.
The DOGAMI study is intended to map out the most efficient roads and trails to safety, determine how fast people will have to walk or run to beat the wave, plus whether bridge collapses or landslides will block escape routes, and if safe evacuation is even feasible.
Dr. Allan will be asking locals if they know of any “non-traditional” routes they are planning to use for evacuation – especially any that are not obvious on current maps.
The March 6th presentation is being hosted by the Emergency Volunteer Corps of Nehalem Bay. Website evcnb.org.