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> Kenneth Murphy, who directs FEMA’s Region X, the division responsible for Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Alaska, says, “Our operating assumption is that every
by adamhi 4y ago
> Kenneth Murphy, who directs FEMA’s Region X, the division responsible for Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Alaska, says, “Our operating assumption is that everything west of Interstate 5 will be toast.”
I remember when this article came out, my mom called me and said "you'll be okay, you're east of I-5, right?"
"Yeah mom."
About 6 blocks east. Plenty of cushion.
- ripper1138 4y agoHa… it’s not like the earthquake will stop at I-5 like it’s a magic shield. If the quake knocks out utilities and services everywhere west of the cascades, this I-5 ‘line’ is meaningless.
- kurthr 4y agoYes, but it won't be toast... it will be the hash and eggs that go with the toast!
- verdverm 4y agoI believe they are referring to the tsunami that follows the earthquake, based on evidence from before the Europeans colonized the continent.
- mannykannot 4y agoWhile some sections of I-5 are probably within the tsunami zone, I think much of it is beyond it. IIRC (I have not read the article since its original publication) this rule-of-thumb encompasses all the posited earthquake's structural and infrastructural damage at a level calling for FEMA-level assistance. The remark is clearly only intended to give an impression of the magnitude of the worst-case scenario.
- itza1 4y agoThey are not—simply the shaking. The tsunami will only be a few feet tall at most in that part of Puget Sound.
- rootusrootus 4y agoAt least in Oregon, I-5 is 50 miles away from the coast and separated from it by a small mountain range. I don't think we're too worried about tsunamis getting all the way to I-5. Definitely will get to Highway 101 in some spots, however. But a lot of the coastline is tall enough that you can usually find a safe place nearby if a tsunami warning sounds.
- verdverm 4y agoYou didn't read the article, this is exactly what they are talking about
- shagie 4y ago> But a lot of the coastline is tall enough that you can usually find a safe place nearby if a tsunami warning sounds. I recall driving US-101 in Oregon some years back and kept seeing "Tsunami evacuation route" signs. https://www.oregon.gov/oem/Documents/Tsunami_Evacuation_Signage_and_Wayfinding_Guidance.pdf https://www.oregon.gov/oem/Documents/Tsunami_Evacuation_Sign...
- Fatnino 4y agoWe have those all along the Pacific coast.
- shagie 4y agoYep. I only recall seeing them in Oregon though - not California or Washington (Washington has warning signs for everything else though - including no warning signs - https://i.imgur.com/T868pkg.jpg https://i.imgur.com/T868pkg.jpg )
- mikestew 4y agoWashington has them, it was one of the first things I noticed when I got the motorcycle out for a coastal ride when I first moved here 20-some years ago. Couldn't tell you exactly where, but they're there and within an easy Saturday ride from Redmond. (Westport or Grayland, maybe?)
- PrairieFire 4y agoseparately, there’s risk from lahars from mt. Baker and mt. Rainier. Catastrophic Baker lahars could potentially bury even Renton based on some estimates.
- ISL 4y agoLahars from Rainier might bury Renton, but definitely not from Baker :).
- shagie 4y agoDon't forget Mt. Hood. The Sandy River is named as such because of a lahar from a decade prior. Eruption-related lahars and sedimentation response downstream of Mount Hood: Field guide to volcaniclastic deposits along the Sandy River, Oregon -- https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/vsc/file_mngr/file-59/Pierson%20et%20al%202009_GSA_Sandy%20field%20trip.pdf https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/vsc/file_mngr/file-59/Pierson%20e... > The Sandy River was originally named the Quicksand River by Lewis and Clark in 1805 (Moulton and Dunlay, 1990). Expedition members noted that the river (a) was ~275 m wide at its mouth and for several kilometers upstream on the delta (30-150 m wide there today); (b) had a number of mid Channel Islands; and (c) had flow which was turbid and very shallow (resembling the Platte River in Nebraska, they noted). It was given its name because "the bed of this stream is formed entirely of quick sand." https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/old.2000/fs060-00/fs060-00.pdf https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/old.2000/fs060-00/fs060-00.pdf > What happened? The answer lay 50 miles away at Mount Hood. An eruption in the 1790's caused a tremendous amount of volcanic rock and sand to enter the Sandy River drainage. That sediment was still being flushed downstream when Lewis and Clark saw and named the river. Since 1806, the river has removed the excess sediment from its channel.
- blueprint 4y agothe tsunami is almost certainly not going to reach i95. the shaking is the bigger issue for most of WA and OR.
- bell-cot 4y agoTrue in some ways...but looking at a map of "% of population surviving the initial tsunami" would probably reveal a fuzzy north-south line. That'll be kinda important to FEMA. (From the tone of "About 6 blocks east. Plenty of cushion.", I'll guess that actual topographic maps don't give adamhi much cause for optimism.)
- originalvichy 4y agoThat’s the joke.
- thanatos519 4y agoCity blocks, or Minecraft blocks? :D
- andrepd 4y agoAka metres x)
- CapitalistCartr 4y agoAnd you never venture West of it, right?
- dieselgate 4y agoThis made me laugh as I'm about 2 blocks West of Hwy 5 in wa