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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (July 5, 2017)
OPINION 6A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, JULY 5, 2017 Founded in 1873 DAVID F. PERO, Publisher & Editor LAURA SELLERS, Managing Editor JEREMY FELDMAN, Circulation Manager DEBRA BLOOM, Business Manager JOHN D. BRUIJN, Production Manager CARL EARL, Systems Manager Water under the bridge Compiled by Bob Duke From the pages of Astoria’s daily newspapers SOUTHERN EXPOSURE 10 years ago this week — 2007 On Independence Day in Gearhart, participation takes top billing over observation. The city invites families to dress in patriotic colors and walk the parade route. “It just kind of evolved this way,” said Dennis McNally, city admin- istrator of Gearhart for the past 12 years. “I think a lot of years there are more people in it than watching it.” McNally said that at one time the parade consisted primarily of fish- ermen pulling their dories through town. He said that when parade organizers started to invite families to become part of the parade, long before he worked for the city, far fewer people opted for the sideline or chose to line the sidewalk. “In recent years we’ve had as many as 2,000 or 3,000 people here for the event,” said McNally. “It has just become larger and larger. It is our own organized chaos. The radio room of the Lightship Columbia is packed with large, serious-looking metal communication equipment, some from the World War II era. It’s a small space below decks in a 50-year-old ship permanently moored outside the Columbia River Maritime Museum. But it provides a window on the world for Astoria resi- dents Ed Aho and Gene Brown. The two longtime members of the Sunset Empire Amateur Radio Club spend every Saturday afternoon there, showing museum visitors how a shipboard radio room used to oper- ate, and contacting fellow amateur ham radio operators all over the globe. Last month, SEARC celebrated the Lightship Columbia radio room’s 25th anniversary. The ship, decommissioned in 1979, is the last in a series of Columbia River lightships that began marking the entrance of the river in 1892. 50 years ago — 1967 Visitors came to the Clatsop beaches by the thousands during the first half of the four-day Fourth of July holiday, enjoying the finest weather of the year so far. Temperatures were in the 90s at Cannon Beach, Seaside, Gearhart and in the Astoria area. A small-scale Viking “dragon ship” of the style of 10 to 20 centuries ago will be launched at Asto- ria Yacht Club Thursday evening. The boat is an 18-foot replica of the Viking ship that was dug up at Goks- tad, Norway, in 1880, just 1,000 years after it had been used to house the The Daily Astorian/File burial of a Viking king or The 18-foot replica of a ninth cen- chieftain. tury Viking dragon ship shown The 18-footer was built above was built by Ron Larson, at by Ronald Larson of Asto- right, and will be launched Thurs- ria Marine Construction day evening at the Yacht Club. Co. as a result of conver- sations about Viking lore with Ed Ross, 600 West Lexington, while Larson was building a yacht for Ross during recent months. “It’s due to Ross’ interest that the boat was built,” Lar- son said. SALEM — Gov. Tom McCall today signed the controversial beach bill and reported measurements already under way confirm “to a T” the 16-foot elevation line defining the dry sand area. The measure, passed by the Legislature after a sharp controversy, secures continued public use of the beach area. It also provides for zon- ing to prevent the erection of buildings and barriers without a permit from the state Highway Department. 75 years ago — 1942 Official Dedication, 8 Vaudeville Acts, Dancing Planned; Stamps Admission What: Dedication and opening of Astoria’s new $150,000 community recreation building and USO club on Exchange Street, between 16th and 17th streets. When: Friday night, July 3, starting at 7:30 sharp. The building will be opened at 6. Who may come? It is the public’s show and the public is invited along with servicemen. How much does it cost? For adults: a 25-cent war stamp. For children: a 10-cent war stamp. THE PURCHASER KEEPS THE STAMP HE BUYS AND MERELY SHOWS IT AT THE DOOR FOR ADMISSION. It is his stamp, his share in freedom. What is the show? Official dedication and opening of the building. The Camel Caravan, including eight acts of vaude- ville. Dancing and open house. Wilfred Parman of L.G. Parman & Sons, Birkenfeld sheep ranch- ers, has submitted a claim to the state game commission for $180 for 23 sheep allegedly killed by bears on the Parman property south of West- port. The Parmans have lost some 50 sheep from bear depredations this year. Tsunami survival tips gleaned from Japan This spring, Clatsop County Emergency Manager Tiffany Brown and Oregon State University Exten- sion Coastal Natural Hazards Spe- cialist Patrick Corcoran joined a delegation of about 50 sponsored by the Greater Portland Inc. eco- nomic development agency on a community resilience study mission in Japan to observe firsthand how public agencies and citizens have recovered from the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, which left almost 16,000 confirmed dead. What can Clatsop County bene- fit from the experience? Corcoran shared his thoughts on prepared- ness, evacuation and adjusting our mindset to meet a Cascadia Sub- duction Zone event. Q : How does the Japanese attitude and level of preparedness differ from ours? A: For 1,000 years they’ve con- tinually been dealing with earth- quakes and tsunamis. These are people who have experience, disci- pline and practice. I came back from Japan basically with my top 10 reasons why Japan is not an analog for Oregon, or a model for what we should do. The exact opposite. In 2017, it was all about engineering show, I never saw more cranes and backhoes, massive excavation proj- ects and 3-kilometer seawalls — it just goes on and on, and that’s in a community of 20,000. Our default approach is “don’t expect this to happen” and then get bailed out by the government after it happens. Q: Does that frustrate you, seeing all this vulnerability on the Oregon Coast? A: I suppose, yes. It’s a spiri- tual practice not to just waste that in frustration. The other part of this is total human nature. We haven’t had this happen (here) since Western set- tlement. We’re not going to get it right or begin to get it right until it happens again. That’s the reality. That’s my frustration, how we are neurologically challenged to really wrap our heads around this. What I came back from Japan realizing was that we cannot afford nor permit their engineering, their solutions — therefore we have to come up with our own. That leaves evacuation, getting out of the dan- gerous spots. That means minimiz- ing the precious people and valu- able things that you put there. For those inevitable things that need to be there, there are evacua- tion routes to high ground. If you’re motivated, it’s very doable. Q: You said schools in Japan served as massive evacuation cen- ters. The new school campus is being built near Seaside Heights Elementary School. Do you think it’s realistic to consider this facil- ity as an evacuation shelter? A: It doesn’t matter if they plan it. It will happen. The good thing about being up there is at least if people are doing crazy stuff in a manic mode they’re going in the right direction rather than going to the ocean. That’s a win right there. The school will be a place people will go. Worst-case scenario, it will one of the few places large enough to go where people can shelter. Q: How can businesses make a difference? A: What I talk to businesses about is a “till-to-the-hill” policy. By that I mean, when they hire, before their employees run their first shift, they have to run from the till of the business to the evacuation Submitted Photo Pat Corcoran demonstrating wall height in Higashi-Matsushima, Japan. Submitted Photo Emergency warning signs. Submitted Photo Visitors learn about Japan’s technique for earthquake and tsunami resiliency. spot closest to that site. Then, when any tourist asks them anything about earthquake or tsunami evacu- ation, they can answer in three sen- tences: “I don’t know about all that. But I’ve been to the evacuation spot from here. And three, if you feel an earthquake, follow me.” It’s almost like a pat answer, something they can even have fun with. But it’s a means, it’s the mes- sage. You don’t need to have pro- grams and stickers and certifica- tions. Just have your employees know where they should go if they feel an earthquake. They need to do it anyway. Q: How important is it to get to high ground? A: From the statistics I saw, if you got to the high ground in 19 minutes, you were a survivor. If it was 21 minutes you were a fatality. When that wave comes, you’ve got to be where you’ve got to be. Q: Should you get in your car? A: Cars are like purses with wheels. We feel safer inside them. We love our cars but you have to understand the downside of cars. If you have an electric garage door opener you won’t have power. The garage will have shifted and the garage door that slides so nicely will not open. Now you’ve wasted six minutes trying to get your god- damn car out of the garage. Let’s say you do that. The power line is now down and you can’t go any further. Now you get out and start running up the hill. So if I was within foot distance that’s my plan. A: Whatever’s shorter. Q: How do we develop the Oregon Coast with an under- standing that we can armor it like Japan? How do we do the American version of that? A: What I ask is: are we doing planning commensurate with the risk? Let’s start building like we’re going to do when it happens next time. Oregon’s Coast has only been developed for 100 years. This is the perfect time to start putting infrastructure up on top of hills. Coming back from Japan, what can we do? I like moving our schools to the top of the hill. That focuses everybody’s attention to go up. So when they forget every- thing except where their kids are, at least they are going uphill. Q: What are some other ways we can work? A: No matter what we do to prepare for winter storms and our chronic hazards is beneficial for the catastrophic hazard as well. The idea of having batteries, the idea of having water. We have to drill. What got drilled got done. I’m looking at small victories. We can have Boy Scouts clearing brambles for evac- uation trails in popular places where people go. Multiuse things. In the dunes, have bird observation kiosks, sturdy observation kiosks that provide some elevation. That’s long-term stuff. Q: What kind of Cascadia Subduction Zone event is likely to happen here? A: The next one is the only one I care about. The odds of it being the worst is pretty small, a one-in- 10,000-year event. Far more likely, it’s going to be closer to average. Since we haven’t experienced this before, and our emergency man- ager planners entertain the worst case scenario, that becomes the default conversation. Tillamook Head will fall into the sea and all the bridges will fall down. That’s not true. More likely it will be closer to average at let’s take the 80th percentile — about 35 feet. A 45-foot observation tower is going to be OK. These things (the earthquakes) vary between magnitude 8s or magnitude 9s — basically an even number. We’re equally as likely to get a magnitude 8 off Gold Beach as we are a full rip. In that sce- nario, that is bad but not ugly. Far more manageable. Not all of the bridges are going to fall down. Like winter storms, they’re on a spectrum of badness. Whatever we’ve done for our winter storms and our chronic hazards is ben- eficial for our tsunami hazard as well. There will be three phases in the Pacific Northwest: one, the Native American; second, our gen- eration and the generation after that; and three, everybody after that. We are in this transition, the first Western culture about to understand what it means. What we do afterwards, next time in the rebuild, will be fundamentally dif- ferent than what we are doing now. For me, knowing that, can we align our behavior with what we know is going to happen? R.J. Marx is The Daily Astori- an’s South County reporter and edi- tor of the Seaside Signal and Can- non Beach Gazette.
