Spot Japanese earthquake debris? Here’s where to report it

Debris possibly from the March 11, 2011, Tohoku Earthquake and tsunami found on Copalis Beach on June 30, 2012. Photo: Raymond Lasmanis.

Items from Asia, including buoys or consumer plastics, regularly wash up on the Washington coast, but coastal beaches are experiencing an increase in marine debris. The increase is likely a result of the March 11, 2011, tsunami that devastated Japan, claiming nearly 16,000 lives.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicts tsunami debris will continue to show up on our shores intermittently during the next several years. If you spot what you suspect is debris from the Japanese tsunami, please take photos, note the location, and email the information to disasterdebris@noaa.gov.

We encourage you to remove and dispose of small debris items such as Styrofoam, plastic bottles or other portable objects. If it looks like the item might have sentimental value to those who owned it, please move the item to a safe place and email the information to disasterdebris@noaa.gov.

If you spot other types of marine debris on Washington beaches, here’s the number to call: 1-855-WACOAST (1-855-922-6278). Other marine debris that should be reported to the state include: oil, hazardous items, and large floating debris items that might pose a hazard to boating or navigation. You can also get instructions for reporting smaller and nonhazardous debris by calling 1-855-WACOAST.

As of July 2, NOAA says it had received 569  reports of potential tsunami debris both along West Coast shorelines and from sightings at sea. Among the items, confirmed as tsunami debris items is a 20-foot fiberglass boat that washed ashore at Cape Disappointment State Park near Ilwaco on Friday, June 15. More information

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DNR keeps eye on Japanese tsunami debris; Department manages 2.6 million acres of state-owned aquatic lands

Washington coast. Photo: Jane Chavey

Washington agencies, including DNR, are preparing for the prospect of debris from the 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami washing ashore here. Yesterday (Wednesday, April 25), representatives of local and tribal governments, state and federal agencies, and community organizations gathered in Ocean Shores to coordinate their strategies to respond to tsunami debris. Some debris could enter the Strait of Juan de Fuca and possibly reach the opening to Puget Sound.

Most, but not all, of the materials washed into the ocean following the tsunami have sunk, degraded or become widely dispersed. But as the manager and steward of some 2.6 million acres of state-owned aquatic lands, DNR is concerned about the potential environmental impacts of any debris that arrives here. Experts expect that the debris — now widely dispersed – will arive in small amounts over the next  two years.

More about the debris from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Guidance from NOAA: What to do if you see debris

Here’s what the media said about the April 25 meeting in Ocean Shores.

• MSNBC: Tsunami debris concerns Washington State
• CNN: Preparing for tsunami debris, wherever it may make landfall 
• KOMO News: Wave of Japanese tsunami debris heading for the west coast 
• KIRO News: Agencies plan for tsunami debris heading our way
• KING 5: State experts form strategies for tsunami debris arrival 
• NW Public Radio: Cost Recovery Part Of West Coast Tsunami Debris Cleanup Discussion

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Project Safe Haven honored for plans to protect Washington coastal residents from tsunamis

An artist's concept drawing of the type of berm that would provide a park and public space but also a refuge for coastal residents from a tsunami.

This morning, DNR Chief Hazards Geologist Timothy Walsh and John Schelling of the Washington Emergency Management Division will accept a National Award of Excellence on behalf of Project Safe Haven. The federally funded, multi-agency project looks for ways to improve tsunami safety for residents of coastal communities. In Washington State, many town along the coast are at high risk from tsunamis due to what the Seattle Times called “an unfortunate mix of geology and geography.”

Coastal areas of Pacific and Grays Harbor counties and parts of Puget Sound would be inundated by a tsunami, caused either by a distant Pacific Ocean earthquake or the massive Cascadia Subduction Zone just off the Washington coast. The Safe Haven Project brings coastal residents together with experts in planning, engineering, geology, architecture, and emergency management to find practical and affordable options to build tsunami safe havens in their community. Several Washington State coastal areas have little or no high ground for safety from a tsunami but likely could not be evacuated very quickly either. Many of the people killed in the March 2011 tsunami in northern Japan may have received a tsunami warning but could not leave the area fast enough to avoid the deadly waves. 

Tsunami monitoring system developed to provide earlier warnings, better forecasts

The red dots show locations of monitoring buoys placed by the United States to provide early warnings and more accurate forecasts of distant tsunamis. Source: NOAA

With the very real threat of deadly tsunamis someday hitting Washington State’s coastal areas, what are the chances that we will get sufficient warning of an approaching tsunami? Pretty good, unless the tsunami is caused by a local earthquake.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA) maintains 39 buoys with satellite-linked monitoring equipment across the Pacific, Atlantic, Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. The network relies on the DART (Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis) system–a series of buoys that report sea level measurements to Tsunami Warning Centers (warnings for the Pacific Northwest would come from the centers in Hawaii or Alaska). These centers process the DART data along with other information from tide and seismic stations to produce refined estimates of the tsunami source. The result is a tsunami forecast that can be used to issue watches, warnings or evacuations. Japan, Australia and New Zealand are among the several nations that also maintain detection systems.

This video from NOAA Center for Tsunami Research describes how the buoys work and how tsunamis are forecasted.

A tsunami warning could be only a matter of minutes if an earthquake occurred underneath the ocean floor close to Washington State (and we have many earthquake faults under Puget Sound and the Pacific waters off of our coast).

Check out the latest tsunami evacuation and hazard zone maps available from DNR, available on the web or as a smartphone app.

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Take our tsunami awareness quiz

As part of National Tsunami Preparedness Week, here’s a quiz:

Q: What is a tsunami?
A: A tsunami is a series of ocean waves caused by a sudden, large displacement of water most often caused by earthquakes, but also by landslides or volcanic eruptions. It can take the form of an advancing wall of water or a fast-rising tide.

Q: Is it true that a tsunami can consist of several waves or surges?
A: Yes, and the first wave is often not the largest nor most dangerous. Surges may arrive several hours after the initial wave. 

Q: What are vertical tsunami evacuation structures?
A: A vertical evacuation structure is a building or earth mound designed to resist earthquakes and tsunamis, and high enough to give people a safe location above the tsunami flooding. Some people survived the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami by taking shelter in multi-story, reinforced concrete buildings. DNR and other Washington public agencies have been meeting with coastal residents to explore options, such as incorporating accessible tsunami safety areas into the design of future schools, public buildings, and other structures, especially where there is little high ground for safety or a mass evacuation would take too long.

Q: What are the four levels of tsunami warning messages (from highest to lowest) used in the U.S. and Canada?
A: Visit DNR’s Facebook fan page to see the answer to this question… and while you’re there, please consider giving us a Facebook ‘like’

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Tsunami Preparedness Week: Know your community’s evacuation routes

A typical tsunami evacuation sign.

If you live in or visit the coastal areas of Washington State, this week — National Tsunami Preparedness Week — is a good time to get familiar with your community’s tsunami risks and evacuation routes.

DNR and its Division of Geology and Earth Resources have worked with the Washington Emergency Management Division, and Grays Harbor, Jefferson, Pacific, and Whatcom counties to create several handy brochures showing tsunami evacuation routes and flooding zones for several communities on the Washington coast. (See if your community is listed on the DNR Tsunami Evacuation Brochure web page.)  These escape routes are marked by road signs.

It’s important to remember that car evacuation may not be possible if an earthquake has damaged roads, power lines and buildings, causing significant debris. In those cases, you might have to evacuate on foot directly to the nearest high ground. It’s important to know the official routes but also to keep in mind what might happen if you cannot use local roads after a large local earthquake. While you may have several hours warning of a tsunami caused by a distant earthquake–the March 11, 2011, event in Japan, for example — the warning may be just 10 to 20 minutes, perhaps, from a nearby earthquake. That’s why our maps show walking routes as well as assembly areas, such as fire stations.

DNR works with federal agencies and local governments to prepare maps of recommended tsunami evacuation routes for many coastal Washington communities. We also map earthquake faults and hazards. Local and state emergency officials rely on these maps, in addition to data and estimates prepared by DNR’s geologists and other sources to plan their responses to earthquakes, tsunamis and other natural disasters.

Find information about personal and family preparedness from the Washington Emergency Management Division.

Visit the new Pacific Northwest Tsunami Evacuation Zones online portal or download the free smartphone app — TsunamiEvac-NW  — for Apple and Android smartphones

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Tsunami-hit Japanese city shares its stories, hopes on Facebook

Many of the local cherry trees of Kesennuma, Japan, were destroyed in the 2011 tsunami, but locals are enjoying the blooms anyway, with help from a display at a children's play center.

One of the coastal towns hit hard by the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami was Kesennuma. To show the world how its residents are recovering from the disaster and reconstructing their lives, the town has created a multilingual Facebook account to share stories and pictures. The English version of their Facebook page is “Kesennuma: Building for the future.” The emphasis is on recovery and there are many interesting stories of hope to read.

One example comes from an essay contest that asked Kesennuma children to imagine what things will be like in 10 years. Sayaka Utsumi, age 10, writes of building safer facilities for children and the elderly, “To protect the weak first from disasters, I think it is good to build kindergartens and nursing homes on hillsides with rich natural environment. In constructing facilities it is crucial to bear in mind that we should prevent tragedy being caused by tsunami.”

Another essayist, Mami Oikawa, a 10-year-old living in temporary housing since her house was washed away in the March 11 tsunami, regrets the tsunami’s destruction of her family’s multi-generational fishing business, but she looks ahead to better times. “Kesennuma after ten years: I imagine it has beautiful streets with lots of nice scenery and its people running their fishing or farming business, just like before the disaster. Especially I can clearly imagine that Kesennuma people will be carrying a strong will that can fight against a disaster,” she writes.

These stories, photos and more news about this small town’s struggle to recover are on Kesennuma’s Facebook page.

This week is Tsunami Awareness Week. DNR works with federal agencies and local governments to prepare maps of recommended tsunami evacuation routes for many coastal Washington communities. We also map earthquake faults and hazards. Local and state emergency officials rely on these maps, in addition to data and estimates prepared by DNR’s geologists and other sources to plan their responses to earthquakes, tsunamis and other natural disasters.

DNR has an interactive web portal offering tsunami evacuation maps for many coastal communities in Washington. Like Japan, we have several earthquake faults with the potential to cause large tsunamis.

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National Tsunami Preparedness Week is March 25-31; Is the debris here yet?

Minato a week after the March 11, 2011, Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. PHOTO: Lance Cpl. Ethan Johnson/US Marine Corps (Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic)

A fishing trawler swept away by the March 11, 2011, tsunami in northern Japan has shown up off the west coast of Canada. The trawler, apparently adrift and unmanned for the past 12 months, was reported 120 miles off the Queen Charlotte Islands.

The timing is appropriate as this week (March 25-31) is Tsunami Awareness Week. The 9.0 earthquake and the tsunami that followed claimed nearly 16,000 lives, injured 6,000 more, and damaged or destroyed thousands of buildings. Most of the debris — homes, boats, cars and other parts of daily life – that last year’s tsunami dragged out to sea from coastal towns sank not far from Japan’s eastern coast. Between 1 million and 2 million tons of debris remain in the ocean, but only 1 to 5 percent of that is expected to reach Hawaii, Alaska, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia.

It’s hard to say when or exactly where the majority of any remaining debris will reach our shores in Washington State. Many experts say it could be in 2013 but, as the discovery of the adrift trawler shows, it’s hard to predict. You can help: the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) needs beach monitors to help survey shores for baseline marine debris data. That way, if more debris starts appearing, they’ll know the leading edge of the tsunami debris may have arrived.

Request NOAA Marine Debris Program protocols by sending an email to: MD.monitoring@noaa.gov.

Facing an earthquake threat someday of the same magnitude as Japan’s, DNR works with federal agencies and local governments to prepare maps of recommended tsunami evacuation routes for many coastal Washington communities. The Pacific Northwest Tsunami Evacuation Zones online portal and a free smartphone app — TsunamiEvac-NW — show tsunami hazard zones along the coasts of Oregon and Washington. The portal and app were developed by the Northwest Association of Networked Ocean Observing Systems program.

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New tsunami app and interactive evacuation maps unveiled

The free Tsunami Evac-NW smartphone app provides direct links to maps of tsunami evacuation zones and education.

Scoping out the tsunami hazards along the coastlines of Washington and Oregon just got easier with the release of TsunamiEvac-NW, a smartphone app announced yesterday by DNR and two other agencies. The free app is available from the iTunes App Store and Google Play (formerly Android Market).

The tool, developed by the Northwest Association of Networked Ocean Observing Systems program, integrates maps that DNR and the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries created showing coastal tsunami evacuation zones. There also is online portal. Users can mark their locations or areas they plan visit and see whether it is a tsunami evacuation zone. The free app and web portal also help people to plan their own evacuation routes.

The coasts of Oregon, Washington, and Northern California are exposed to tsunamis. These giant waves can come from distant earthquakes (such as the March 11, 2011, Tōhoku, Japan tsunami) or local earthquakes. The greatest risk to Northwest coastal communities is from large, locally generated tsunamis that would be produced by a large earthquake (magnitude 8 or more ) immediately on the Cascadia Subduction Zone under the Pacific Ocean, just off our coast.

Read more in yesterday’s news release about the TsunamiEvac-NW app and online portal.

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DNR’s interactive web portal offers Washington tsunami evacuation maps

Tsunami inundation areas of Washington State. Source: DNR

With the one-year anniversary of the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan approaching, a visit to the Washington State Geologic Information Portal can provide interesting — and useful — information about our risks in Washington State.

Our detailed and multi-layered base map of the state’s geologic features has been sliced and diced a few different ways by the experts in our Geology and Earth Resources Division. For example, the tsunami layer features the base map with an overlay of  tsunami hazard zones, evacuation routes, and assembly areas. Use the address locator tool to find evacuation routes and assembly areas near your home, school or workplace.

Using our interactive maps, you can create, save, and print custom maps, find more information about map features, and download map data for use in a geographic information system (GIS). In addition to a variety of geoscience layers that can be turned on and off, each interactive map has many base layers to choose from, so you can customize your map in any number of ways.

Please note that because of the huge volume of geologic data in these interactive maps, the data loading and identification operations may not be instantaneous (compared,  say, finding the nearest coffee bar on a google map).

Here’s a 2-page fact sheet explaining how to get the most out of the Washington State Geologic Information Portal.

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