There is always something to learn and/or consider when you are in a different area of the country or world.
When we arrived in the area on Wednesday, I saw this sign which says: Entering Tsunami Hazard Zone.
My first thought was tsunami - I don't want to be in a tsunami! Then I realized that all of the communities along the coast are tsunami ready and the signs make sense. The evacuation zones are clearly marked.
We have instructions in our cottage for local and distant tsunamis.
About 60-100 miles off shore is the Cascadia Subduction Zone. This is an area where two of the great land mass plates meet. One of the plates is trying to dive under the other, and as that happens, pressure builds and when there is a sudden slippage, there will be a large earthquake and the associated tsunami. This is a local tsunami. In this case, you would feel the earth shake for a several minutes - that is the warning. You only have about 15 minutes to get to higher ground.
A tsunami coming from Alaska, or elsewhere in the Pacific Rim, is a distant tsunami. Sirens will sound about 3 hours prior to the waves. You are supposed to turn on the TV or a radio to find out if you need to move.
We don't expect a tsunami but I'm glad we know what to do just in case.
I'd forgotten about these signs, too. The house we rented had tsunami warning info in it as well.
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