They say the west coast of America could get a tsunami at any time, Its not a matter of if, but when?

Question

if you live there, how high above sea level do you live? I used to live Near Coos Bay, but up River at about 150 feet, Im not sure even that will be safe!

Answer 1

Most of the Oregon Coast is now marked with Tsunami zone signs that show you what area is would be subject to flooding from a tsunami.

If you were up Coos River at an elevation of 150 feet above sea level, you were way out of the zone and safe. I say this because of the topography of the land - the waves would be slowed down and would not be able to go around the many twists and turns of the riverways and have any force to do damage.

To get up Coos River the wave would have to pass through from the coast, up the channel past North Bend and then into the bay, then upriver to Allegany to get to 150 feet up (or up Kentuck inlet). The tsunami zone ends at the Allegany bridge as I recall (where the road crosses from the south edge otf the river to the north side).

Low lying lands would probably be flooded - especially if the tsunami was at a high tide, but they do that every winter.

I live 23 feet above sea level near Myrtle Point and am 30 miles out of the tsunami zone. And the river is still tidally influenced in Myrtle Point. So it's not how far up you are, but where you are.

Call your city hall and ask them what their tsunami precautions are and what the zone is near where you live and/or work. And, if you ever hear a fire siren blasting in a solid tones instead of the normal wail, that's the new signal for a tsunami. Most cities on the coast have drills once a month (usually first week of the month at noon) so don't panic until it's gone on for longer than 3 minutes.

Answer 2

Yes, could be, because the region is within the Pacific Rings of Fire, but don't worry, compare to Indonesia's Acheh, the US have very sophisticated technologies to detect the thing earlier. Earlier than you thought it is.

BUt, no such a safe place on earth because these 4 elements are everywhere, and we can't live without them:

Water - flood, tsunami
Wind - hurricane
Earth - quake, landslide
Fire - volcano, lightning

Answer 3

A tsunami happens when a massive amount of water is displaced. As the water rushes to shore the water becomes shallow and this causes the tsunami. I would check with the local emergency services as to my danger. If you ever notice the water suddenly retreating, get to high land as fast as you can.