NOAA West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Center

Strong local earthquakes may cause tsunamis. If the shaking causes you to fall or to have difficulty standing, this is your first natural tsunami warning sign. First, protect yourself from the earthquake effects. When the shaking stops, immediately leave the evacuation zone.

The Oregon State Emergency Alert System (EAS) is used to notify the public of a possible approaching tsunami. A steady three minute siren tone is the attention alert signal. Turn on the nearest radio or television and listen for emergency information and instructions.

In some cases not all radio or television stations may be able to transmit. As part of the EAS, particular radio stations have been designated as primary sources for information. Click the link below to find out more about these stations.

The State and County Civil Defense Agencies test the EAS at 11:15 a.m. on the first workday of the month. When you hear the test sirens or your radio or television program is interrupted this is your opportunity to think about what you will do when it is not a test.

Oregon Emergency Management

Washington State Emergency Management

• How you will contact one another?
• How you will get back together?
• What you will do in different situations?

Developing a family emergency plan will provide your family with information that could save lives and protect property.

Make a Family Emergency Plan

Emergency Preparedness Checklist

Emergency preparedness kits should contain the essentials your family needs to survive during a disaster. It may take 72 hours or more for emergency personnel to reach you. Don't wait: hundreds of other families in your area share the same concerns, and it will be difficult to get access to the necessities you need due to shortages and competition.

Recommendations For Disaster Preparedness Kit

Emergency Preparedness Kit

If you live or work in a tsunami evacuation zone, identify an evacuation route from your home or workplace. Identify a safe area outside the evacuation zone where you and others can safely congregate.

After an earthquake, roads may become impassable or blocked so be prepared to evacuate by foot if necessary. Once you know your route develop the plan to evacuate. Consider securing your property, collecting pets, turning off the electricity and water, and bringing essential documents and emergency supplies.

Practice this evacuation plan with others so when there is a tsunami all are prepared to act.

The video below (in Spanish with English subtitles) from Cascadia CoPes Hub demonstrates how to use an evacuation map to be prepared for a tsunami in community.

Tsunami Evacuation Wayfinding Video

Local subduction zone earthquakes and tsunamis occur without warning at any time of the day. The odds of you and your loved ones all being home when the earthquake strikes is slim. It is important that you and your loved ones know what to do, and what not to do. It is important to plan in advance.

What to do: The proper instruction is for everyone to individually survive the earthquake by ducking under something sturdy, covering your head from debris, and holding on until the shaking stops. When the shaking stops, immediately leave the building (if in one) and move quickly to high ground. High ground is 50 feet minimum to as much as a 100 feet for a locally generated tsunami. If you are already above 100 feet, stay there.

In most situations the fastest and safest way to move out of the tsunami evacuation zone may be on foot rather than by car. After an earthquake, many roads may be impassable by car, and traffic congestion and gridlock may block evacuation routes and lead to unnecessary accidents and ultimately death.

Remain outside the tsunami evacuation zone for at least 12-24 hours, as the tsunami surges will continue to flood and retreat for many hours. Do not survive the earthquake and initial tsunami surges only to die rushing back into the inundation zone. Stay at high ground overnight if necessary and then seek out loved ones.

Concrete and/or steel reinforced buildings of 6 or more stories that are not damaged by earthquakes should also provide safe shelter above the fourth floor.

Remain outside the evacuation zone until the "All Clear" signal has been issued by local emergency officials.

What not to do: Many people predetermine a location for everyone to meet following a disaster (school, home, hospital, etc.). This is potentially a bad idea. Why? Because it will encourage people to rush back into inundation zones too soon. In addition, some of these sites may be in the evacuation zone. This increases the likelihood of death. If you want to reconnect with your loved ones, teach them to have the discipline to STAY on high ground overnight before trying to reconnect.

In the event of a distant tsunami, such as the recent March 11, 2011 Japan earthquake, local emergency officials may order an evacuation in response to a National Weather Service tsunami warning. During such events, you have considerably more time to respond. If an evacuation is ordered, follow the directions of local emergency officials or move immediately to higher ground outside of the tsunami evacuation zone immediately. In some locations (e.g. the southern Oregon coast [Bandon to the Oregon/California border] and Cannon Beach), tsunami evacuations zones for a distant event have been developed. Use these additional maps to guide you outside the evacuation zone.

The first tsunami wave associated with a distant event may not be the biggest. Remain away from ports, harbors, and beaches and away from low lying areas for several hours, as the strong to-and-fro surges associated with the tsunami will continue for as many as 12-24 hours. These surges could potentially reach higher elevations if they occur around high tide.

If you have access to a concrete and/or steel reinforced building of 6 or more stories, move above the third floor.

Before returning to the evacuation zone, wait for the All Clear signal from emergency officials.

Earthquakes can damage or destroy bridges. When planning your evacuation route, avoid bridges if possible.

A tsunami (Japanese for harbor waves) is a series of ocean waves produced by a sudden rise or fall in the earths crust, most commonly caused by an earthquake or underwater landslide. In the open ocean tsunami waves cannot be seen or felt by ships or airplanes because the unbreaking waves are actually hundreds of miles wide with a height of only a few feet. As the waves approach the coast their height increases dramatically and can be very destructive when they reach the shore.

NOAA Tsunami Website

Oregon State Tsunami Fact Sheet

Washington State Tsunami Fact Sheet

All low-lying coastal areas, harbors, streams, and rivers in Oregon are vulnerable to tsunami impacts.

Tsunamis can occur at any time. Earthquakes and/or landslides that may trigger tsunamis cannot be forecast.

Locally generated tsunamis resulting from earthquakes or landslides can arrive at the Oregon coast within minutes, even before a warning can be issued. If you are near the shore and feel the ground shake, move inland to higher ground immediately. Oregon is also vulnerable to Pacific-wide tsunamis. These tsunamis result from distant earthquakes and/or landslides in places like Chile, Alaska, and Japan and can arrive on the Oregon coast within hours.

To understand your individual risk, find out if the places you and your family live and work are in or near tsunami evacuation zones. To learn about historical tsunamis that have impacted coastlines around the Pacific Ocean, visit the following websites:

Pacific Tsunami Museum

NOAA Historical Tsunami Information

Historical Tsunamis on the Oregon Coast