Schools Focus on Natural Disaster Preparations

April is Earthquake Awarness Month --
Statement by State Schools Superintendent Susan Castillo regarding earthquake awareness:

Given the recent catastrophes in Haiti and Chile, it is well worth noting that April is Earthquake and Tsunami Awareness Month. The safety of our students and staff is paramount and public schools in Oregon are doing everything they can to prepare our people and buildings in the event of a natural disaster.

We all know that the Northwest is one of the most seismically active regions in the world. So all our public schools are required, at least twice a year, to instruct and drill students on emergency procedures such as "Drop, Cover, Hold." The key to preparedness is practice, so that kids can respond quickly and without panicking when it really counts. In some of our coastal communities, schools also practice tsunami evacuation drills.

If you're at a school that has yet to conduct one of their earthquake drills, April is a great time to get it done. Click here for information regarding instruction and drills.

There is still much work to do to make sure our school buildings are safe in the event of an earthquake. The average Oregon school is 46 years old, and while seismic upgrades have been completed over the years, many buildings are not as safe as they need to be. In fact, a 2007 report from the Department of Oregon Geology and Mineral Industries found that there are 274 public schools across our state considered to be at highest risk in the event of an earthquake.

Earlier this year, Oregon took a step in the right direction by distributing $7.5 million in Seismic Rehabilitation Grants to a number of education and emergency services buildings, including 12 public school buildings from Beaverton to Lakeview. Another $7.5 million will be granted in the second round of applications.

We continue to work toward a long-term plan to ensure that our school buildings are made safer. In the meantime, other schools deemed at risk can apply for future grants through the Oregon Emergency Management Seismic Rehabilitation Grant Program.

To access more information and resources, please visit the Oregon Department of Education's "Quake-Safe Schools" page at www.ode.state.or.us/search/page/?id=2061.

For information about OEM's grant program, visit www.oregon.gov/OMD/OEM/plans_train/SRGP.shtml.
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Contact(s) for this Announcement
Susanne Smith (503) 947-5637
Communications - Manager

Related Topic(s):
Emergency Information and Planning
Facilities

Related Page(s):
Quake Safe Schools

Tsunami education on youtube

Listed below are 2 URLs for some video footage of the arrival of the tsunami in So. Cal as it entered the Ventura, CA harbor following the 8.8 earthquake in Chile on Feb 27.

The video shows how strong the currents can be in harbors and bays. The video was taken by the Ventura Harbor Patrol.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Imfd2tTpxv4&sns=em http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZNnuQthJe8

Chile Earthquake a Warning to the Pacific Northwest

Andrew Revkin of the New York Times wrote an interesting article about how the Chilean earthquake is a warning of what can happen to us here in Oregon. He even includes information from Oregon researchers, and a youtube video about how subduction zone earthquakes work and how devastating the tsunami was from the earthquake in Chile.

A prime case in point is Oregon. After the destruction of hundreds of poorly built schools in China’s Sichuan province, I wrote repeatedly here and in print about similar vulnerability identified by engineers and seismologists in that state, despite the clear record of devastating quakes and tsunamis generated by the Cascadia fault beneath the sea bed off the Northwest coast.

http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/28/chilean-quake-a-warning-to-u-s-northwest/

Tsunami Details

Here at OEM we are monitoring the tsunami. For Oregon it is predicted to be negligible (around half a meter or about 1.5 - 2 feet), but local sea floor and terrain in some areas might make the wave a little larger. Tsunami wave heights peak about 2 hours after they arrive. So we recommend that you stay away from the beach until after the event.

The estimated times of arrival for Oregon are found at http://wcatwc.arh.noaa.gov/2010/02/27/725245/09/webeta725245-09.txt

Cape Blanco, Oregon 1350 PST FEB 27
the Oregon-California border 1350 PST FEB 27
Charleston, Oregon 1402 PST FEB 27
Cascade Head, Oregon 1426 PST FEB 27
Newport, Oregon 1429 PST FEB 27
Tillamook Bay, Oregon 1434 PST FEB 27
the Oregon-Washington border 1439 PST FEB 27
Seaside, Oregon 1446 PST FEB 27
La Push, Washington 1456 PST FEB 27
Westport, Washington 1457 PST FEB 27
Point Grenville, Washington 1459 PST FEB 27
the Washington-British Columbia border 1501 PST FEB 27
Neah Bay, Washington 1507 PST FEB 27
Astoria, Oregon 1511 PST FEB 27

This graphic shows the predicated path of the tsunami and the predicted wave heights. The areas in the red are estimated to be up to 100 cm in height, although the angle, local sea floor, and coastal terrain can affect how high the wave crests on the shore.

It is located at http://wcatwc.arh.noaa.gov/chile/chileem.jpg.

Tsunami Watch for Oregon

Some interesting information on the Chilean earthquake from George Priest and Antonio Baptista:

“The relatively large depth of the EQ (21 miles) and its location on the coast rather than significantly off the coast of Chile has limited the seafloor uplift and resulting tsunami, so only ~2 m of tsunami struck in the near field. The poor geometry of the wave propagation toward Oregon will limit the height to some small percentage of this value when it arrives ~ 2 PM.

The problem for emergency managers is how to respond to the NOAA advisory warning people off of waterfront/beaches. In Newport we have the seafood and wine festival all weekend, so large numbers of people are right at the waterfront. While it is unlikely that they will be in significant danger, given the way Yaquina Bay dissipates tsunami energy (our previous simulations), prudent emergency managers may well want to move folks away from the waterfront. The main lines of people waiting to get into the big tent is a flat parking lot near the Rogue brewery. Other parts of the coast will have similar difficult decisions.”


I just sent this info out via the FlashAlert Network state-wide:

For more information, contact:
James Roddey, Earth Sciences Information Officer, Oregon Dept. of Geology and Mineral Industries (971) 673-1543 (direct line) / (503) 807-8343 (cell)

This is the latest information (9:58 AM) from the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center:

A TSUNAMI ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT WHICH INCLUDES THE COASTAL AREAS OF CALIFORNIA - OREGON - WASHINGTON - BRITISH COLUMBIA AND ALASKA FROM THE CALIFORNIA-MEXICO BORDER TO ATTU ALASKA...

Wave heights in Oregon, at this point, are not expected to be much more that a foot at most and it looks like they will arrive at about low tide on our coast, early this afternoon. Wave heights at Port Orford, OR are estimated to be 0.3M/1.0 FT, with wave heights expected to peak approximately two hours after initial arrival.

This From NWS/WCATWC:

RECOMMENDED ACTIONS:
A TSUNAMI HAS BEEN GENERATED WHICH COULD IMPACT THE ADVISORY REGIONS LISTED IN THE HEADLINE. PERSONS IN LOW-LYING COASTAL AREAS SHOULD BE ALERT TO INSTRUCTIONS FROM THEIR LOCAL EMERGENCY OFFICIALS. EVACUATIONS ARE ONLY ORDERED BY EMERGENCY RESPONSE AGENCIES - PERSONS IN TSUNAMI ADVISORY AREAS SHOULD MOVE OUT OF THE WATER, OFF THE BEACH AND OUT OF HARBORS AND MARINAS.

A TSUNAMI ADVISORY MEANS THAT A TSUNAMI CAPABLE OF PRODUCING STRONG CURRENTS OR WAVES DANGEROUS TO PERSONS IN OR VERY NEAR THE WATER IS IMMINENT OR EXPECTED. SIGNIFICANT WIDESPREAD INUNDATION IS NOT EXPECTED FOR AREAS UNDER AN ADVISORY. CURRENTS MAY BE HAZARDOUS TO SWIMMERS... BOATS... AND COASTAL STRUCTURES AND MAY CONTINUE FOR SEVERAL HOURS AFTER THE INITIAL WAVE ARRIVAL.

THE WAVES WILL FIRST REACH LA JOLLA CALIFORNIA AT 002 PM PST ON FEBRUARY 27. ESTIMATED TSUNAMI ARRIVAL TIMES AND MAPS ALONG WITH SAFETY RULES AND OTHER INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND ON THE WEB SITE: HTTP://www.WCATWC.ARH.NOAA.GOV

AT 1034 PM PACIFIC STANDARD TIME ON FEBRUARY 26 AN EARTHQUAKE WITH PRELIMINARY MAGNITUDE 8.8 OCCURRED NEAR THE COAST OF CENTRAL CHILE. THIS EARTHQUAKE HAS GENERATED A TSUNAMI WHICH COULD CAUSE DAMAGE TO REGIONS IN A WARNING OR ADVISORY.

More information on the tsunami can be found at the NOAA Center for Tsunami Research website: http://nctr.pmel.noaa.gov/chile20100227/


James Roddey
Earth Sciences Information Officer
Oregon Dept. of Geology and Mineral Industries
800 NE Oregon Street, Suite 965, Portland, OR 97232
(971) 673-1543 (direct line) / (503) 807-8343 (cell)
mailto:james.roddey@dogami.state.or.us
http://www.oregongeology.org