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email: Sen.ArnieRoblan@oregonlegislature.gov I phone: 503-986-1705
address: 900 Court St NE, S-417, Salem, OR, 97301
website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/roblan
 The Secretary of State’s Office recently released an audit
of the Oregon Emergency Management and the state’s disaster resiliency. It
shines a light on the fact that we have work to do.
Disaster preparedness requires coordination between Oregon
Emergency Management, 36 counties and hundreds of cities, in addition to tribal
governments and other state agencies. In
2015, we created a Chief Resilience Officer position focused solely on planning
how to recover from a major event in partnership with local, state and tribal
government leaders.
The Legislature also has funded seismic retrofitting grant
programs and other means to make our communities’ structures safer in the event
of a disaster. The Oregon Senate passed a unanimous resolution urging Congress
to permanently and adequately fund and maintain the United States Coast Guard
facility in Newport. Newport’s centralized location on the coast – and the
station’s location outside the tsunami inundation zone – will allow for that
station to be most effective in recovery efforts on the Oregon Coast.
That said, we recognize that there still is a lot of work to
do. Through continuing efforts, we know that we are far better off today than
we were yesterday. It is imperative that we continue improving rapidly and
maintain our commitment to making Oregon a safer place for everyone.
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How does the Tsunami Warning System
Work?
There are two sources of tsunami for Oregon coastal waters - a
distant source and a local source. The tsunami warning system only works for a
distant source tsunami. There is not enough time to issue a warning between the
local Cascadia earthquake and first tsunami surge. Oregon’s two types of tsunami:
A local source:
(the Cascadia Subduction Zone), large tsunami waves will occur in 15-30 minutes
after violent shaking for several minute.
A Cascadia Subduction Zone is the most likely source for an
earthquake and tsunami. The earthquake
is your only warning. If you feel a large earthquake and you are near the
coast, head to high ground as soon as the shaking stops.
A distant source: Similar to the earthquake in
Alaska. It takes hours before the first waves appear, and they are rarely
damaging. The National Tsunami Warning
Center sends out an information statement; tsunami advisories, watches and warnings if a tsunami is
generated.
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Warning:
issued when a tsunami with the potential to generate widespread inundation is
imminent, expected, or occurring. Follow local guidance if you need to
evacuate.
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Advisory: issued when a tsunami with the potential to generate strong currents or waves
dangerous to those in or very near the water is imminent, expected, or
occurring.
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Watch: issued
when a tsunami may later impact the watch area. Stay tuned to local radio and
other emergency channels. Be ready to evacuate, if necessary.
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Information Statement: issued when an earthquake or tsunami has occurred of interest to the
message recipients.
Get a text alert from the National Tsunami Warning Center
National Tsunami Warning Center has
responsibility for alerting the West coast of the United States during a
tsunami. You can sign up to receive the National Tsunami Warning Center's
twitter feed via text to your mobile device. In the U.S. you can send a text message
to 40404 with 'follow NWS_NTWC' for NTWC messages. To stop receiving NTWC text
messages, you can text 'stop NWS_NTWC' to 40404.
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