NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
A2
Thursday, January 3, 2019
Building a better bridge to survive tsunamis
in when designing for tsu-
nami resilience.
The finding is important,
said Pedro Lomonaco and
Solomon Yim, Oregon State
researchers who contrib-
uted to the study, because
it can help engineers under-
stand why bridges fail and
lead to more tsunami-resis-
tant bridges along the Ore-
gon Coast.
“The breaking of the
bearing connections was the
main type of bridge dam-
age seen in recent tsunamis,
showing that it’s critical to
quantify what the tsunami is
doing to these components
and decipher the underlying
physics,” Yim said.
By BRENNA VISSER
EO Media Group
The way bridges are
assessed for tsunami risk
needs to be rethought, new
research suggests.
In a study published by
Oregon State University and
the University of Nevada,
Reno, researchers found
that previous assumptions
about how force from a tsu-
nami impacts bridge infra-
structure don’t necessarily
hold true.
Most studies have only
looked at the total force a
tsunami puts on a bridge,
rather than how force
impacts individual compo-
nents like girders, the hor-
izontal beam that supports
the deck, and bearings, the
part that provides a resting
surface between the col-
umns and the deck.
Standard girder bridges
are built with the assump-
tion that all of the stresses
from a tsunami are being
transmitted and absorbed
through the foundation.
The study found that dif-
ferent types of force brought
on by a sustained rush-
ing wall of water actually
transfers a large amount of
pressure onto the support-
ing parts of the bridge, like
the girders, deck chambers,
bearings and connections.
These parts are not factored
The irregular shape of
traditional trusses and gird-
ers also creates unaccount-
ed-for turbulence, they said.
In general, the wall of water
should be moving in one
direction, but when it has to
go through trusses, the water
weaves in and out, add-
ing different hydrodynamic
forces that can compromise
the bridge’s stability.
“The high pressure that
developed under the bridge
played a significant role on
the stability of the bridge,
and different mitigation
measures were tested, from
closing the gaps between
girders to incorporating
venting on the concrete
deck,” Lomonaco said.
Deadly examples
The need to better under-
stand wave impacts on
coastal bridges was largely
motivated by seeing bridges
destroyed during tsuna-
mis off Japan and Indone-
sia. Over the past 15 years,
big earthquakes have caused
tsunamis that killed more
than 250,000 people and
caused more than $200 bil-
lion in damage, the study
estimates, washing away
or dislodging hundreds of
bridges.
The research could help
coastal cities like Seaside,
which has several aging
bridges that are expected to
fail in a tsunami.
The topic has been raised
recently by City Councilor
Tom Horning, a geologist
who has long advocated ret-
rofitting bridges as a top pri-
ority for the city.
With two major riv-
ers to cross before getting
to higher ground, having
bridges that can last will be
crucial to maintaining evac-
uation routes.
“Bridges are one of the
easiest, fastest connection
points to help people after
an emergency,” Lomonaco
Forecast for Pendleton Area
TODAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
MONDAY
Cloudy
Mostly cloudy
Cloudy
Snow or fl urries
possible
A thick cloud cover
46° 38°
50° 33°
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
43° 35°
49° 45°
46° 36°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
45° 36°
52° 32°
43° 36°
47° 42°
46° 35°
OREGON FORECAST
ALMANAC
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Seattle
Olympia
52/46
38/35
45/32
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
48/40
Lewiston
50/45
45/39
Astoria
53/46
Pullman
Yakima 40/37
49/44
42/35
Portland
Hermiston
52/45
The Dalles 45/36
Salem
Corvallis
53/42
Yesterday
Normals
Records
La Grande
36/31
PRECIPITATION
John Day
Eugene
Bend
53/42
47/34
42/35
Ontario
35/24
Caldwell
Burns
37°
20°
39°
27°
62° (1939) -7° (1979)
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
Albany
53/44
Boardman
Pendleton
Medford
47/30
0.00"
0.00"
0.08"
0.00"
0.00"
0.08"
WINDS (in mph)
36/26
32/17
0.00"
0.00"
0.12"
0.00"
0.00"
0.12"
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Pendleton 37/29
54/44
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
HERMISTON
Enterprise
46/38
46/37
38°
23°
40°
26°
63° (1913) -9° (1924)
PRECIPITATION
Moses
Lake
52/43
Aberdeen
38/35
37/33
Tacoma
Yesterday
Normals
Records
Spokane
Wenatchee
53/46
Today
Fri.
SSW 4-8
SSE 7-14
SW 4-8
SW 6-12
said. “If you don’t have the
bridges, there is nothing you
can do.”
To find answers, research-
ers simulated a tsunami on
a model bridge at the O.H.
Hinsdale Wave Research
Laboratory’s Large Wave
Flume in Corvallis.
Part of what researchers
found was that most bridges
are built too rigidly, Yim
and Lomonaco said.
Instead of seeing the
concrete columns under a
bridge as inflexible blocks,
42/23
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2019
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
Oregon shifts hepatitis A
prevention efforts
BEND (AP) — Oregon
health officials are working
to redirect hepatitis A pre-
vention strategies toward
homeless populations fol-
lowing a shift in how out-
breaks of the disease occur.
The Bulletin reports the
Oregon Health Authority
has purchased additional
hepatitis A vaccines this
year, distributing them to
county health departments
in areas with large homeless
populations.
Previously,
hepati-
tis A outbreaks were
mostly linked to interna-
tional travelers or food-
borne outbreaks, with infec-
tions occurring mainly in
children.
Oregon has documented
20 cases of the disease
through November 2018.
Four of the cases last year
involved people younger
than age 40.
The federal Centers for
7:36 a.m.
4:23 p.m.
5:23 a.m.
2:51 p.m.
New
First
Full
Last
Jan 5
Jan 13
Jan 20
Jan 27
NATIONAL EXTREMES
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 88° in Immokalee, Fla. Low -38° in Daniel, Wyo.
Buehler plans to
stay engaged in
Oregon issues
SALEM (AP) — Repub-
lican gubernatorial candi-
date Knute Buehler, who
lost the November elec-
tion, says he’s repurpos-
ing his campaign web site
to highlight issues that con-
cern him, including improv-
ing the welfare of foster
children.
Buehler, who is now offi-
cially out of politics since he
didn’t seek re-election to the
Oregon House of Represen-
tatives in order to campaign
for the governorship, said in
a video message on Monday
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
0s
showers t-storms
Disease Control and Pre-
vention recorded 1,521
cases of hepatitis A in
2017 from California, Ken-
tucky, Michigan and Utah.
Of those, 57 percent had
reported drug use, home-
lessness or both. As a result,
the Advisory Committee on
Immunization Practices rec-
ommended in October add-
ing homelessness to the list
of reasons why some should
be vaccinated.
Hepatitis A is typically
transmitted when someone
ingests something that has
been contaminated with the
feces of an infected person.
Symptoms include fever,
fatigue, nausea, abdominal
pain, dark urine, joint pain
and jaundice. Most people
recover with limited treat-
ment, but complications can
occur especially among peo-
ple already in poor health.
“The homeless popula-
tion just seems like the per-
fect setup for this transmis-
sion,” said Dr. Paul Cieslak,
medical director for com-
municable diseases and
immunizations at the Ore-
gon Health Authority’s Pub-
lic Health Division. “You’ve
got people living without
the benefit of running water
and often without toilet or
sewage.”
Multnomah County was
already routinely screen-
ing people at its shelters
for tuberculosis, and began
offering the additional hepa-
titis A vaccines provided by
the state at the same time.
“It really is a very effec-
tive vaccine, so that’s been
our main push,” said Lisa
Ferguson, who oversees the
county’s communicable dis-
ease services team. “We’ve
been trying to connect with
homeless services providers
and making sure people out
in the field know what to be
looking for.”
BRIEFLY
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
-0s
imagine them like springs.
When the tsunami hits the
deck of a bridge it will bend,
making it vibrate both back
and forth and up and down.
The bridge deck and pil-
ings not only feel the static
forces coming from the
earthquake and tsunami, but
the additional pressure from
these vibrations.
“We are changing the
paradigm ... to the con-
cept of thinking about how
a bridge is moving, chang-
ing,” Yim said.
Given how young the
area of study is, more
research is needed to under-
stand why certain bridges
survive and why others do
not, the team says.
But researchers hope the
study gives engineers a bet-
ter understanding of the
physics of what happens
when a tsunami slams into a
bridge and opens the door to
designing coastal spans that
are better able to withstand
giant waves.
“Think back 10, 15 years
ago, the tsunami was not
even considered,” Yim said.
“We’ve come a long ways.”
SUN AND MOON
Klamath Falls
-10s
More research
The Daily Astorian/Colin Murphey
Several bridges and roads in Seaside have been deemed potentially problematic in an
earthquake and tsunami.
10s
rain
20s
flurries
30s
snow
40s
50s
ice
60s
cold front
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3 bullet-riddled
bodies hidden near
WA state home
PORT ANGELES, Wash.
(AP) — Authorities on
Wednesday were investigat-
ing the deaths of a man, his
son and the son’s girlfriend
whose bullet-riddled bod-
ies were found concealed on
a property known for host-
ing transients in Washington
state.
Police discovered the bod-
ies when they were sent to the
home near the waterfront city
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News reported.
Investigators found the
door to the home ajar and then
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dan D. Iverson, 27, covered
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CORRECTION: The Dec. 22 story “Realtors Board has equity in Agape House”
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the Agape House at the Peace and Goodwill Hermiston Community Christmas Con-
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52 weeks
26 weeks
13 weeks
that he wants to highlight
state budget and health care
issues, and bring civility to
politics.
Buehler, an orthope-
dic surgeon from the Cen-
tral Oregon town of Bend,
received roughly 815,000
votes compared to incum-
bent Democratic Gov. Kate
Brown’s 934,500.
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