4
The Columbia Press
January 8, 2021
Hazards: City’s threats are flood, tsunami, wind
A ‘king tide’
washes over a
lookout in Coos
County.
Continued from Page 1
quest, it’s a really important
aspect of this plan.”
The effort was funded pri-
marily by the Federal Emer-
gency Management Agency,
but the state and local juris-
dictions chipped in as well.
In addition to cities, the re-
port includes scenarios for
the county’s rural areas, the
Port of Astoria, Sunset Em-
pire Transportation District,
Clatsop Community College,
Seaside School District, fire
protection districts and wa-
ter districts
“It’s an opportunity for
everybody to have a say on
what we’re spending tax
dollars on,” Brown said.
“Without (the plan), we do
not have access to very im-
portant funding streams that
FEMA provides. And it’s
FEMA’s way of vetting our
projects. FEMA’s just trying
to be smart about tax dollars
as well.”
Some of the report’s find-
ings:
Warrenton is the most vul-
nerable community for loss-
es due to floods. An estimat-
ed 4.5 percent of structures
could be damaged in a 100-
year flood. All other commu-
nities were at 1 percent risk
or below.
Other communities, such
as Astoria, Cannon Beach
and Arch Cape, are far more
vulnerable to landslides,
which is not a big problem in
the largely flat city of War-
renton.
Astoria, Warrenton and
Cannon Beach fell in the me-
dium range for exposure to
volcanic ashfall, should an-
other Mount St. Helens di-
saster occur.
Astoria’s downtown fire in
December 1922 is the only
recorded urban wildfire in
the county. Astoria, Gear-
hart and Cannon Beach fall
in the high-risk category for
exposure to wildfires; War-
Rick Poecker
King Tide Project
Tiffany Brown
renton is the only city in the
low-risk category.
All cities and jurisdictions
were deemed to be at high
risk for windstorms and se-
vere winter weather.
Following is the communi-
ty assessment for Warren-
ton, although other cities
and jurisdictions are includ-
ed in the report.
• Drought: Warrenton’s wa-
ter supply comes from small
dams on the hills east of
Seaside. But the city doesn’t
manage its watershed, which
is owned by a timber compa-
ny. Businesses such as Pacific
Seafood could experience eco-
nomic challenges if the water
supply became an issue.
• Earthquake: Because
Warrenton has few concrete
and unreinforced masonry
structures, it is fairly resil-
ient to smaller quakes. How-
ever, there are some areas
with soil subject to liquefac-
tion in the lowest elevations.
• Erosion: The city’s prob-
ability of coastal erosion due
to tidal and wave actions
was deemed to be low. Only
Hammond Marina has had
erosion problems.
• Flood: Warrenton is pro-
tected by 12-foot levees,
which are maintained by
Public Works. The city has
never had a breach and nev-
er had a flood.
• Landslide: Warrenton is
flat. The vulnerability to and
probability of a landslide is
low.
To learn more
The draft Natural Haz-
ards Mitigation Plan is
available on the county’s
website, co.clatsop.or.us,
and click on “Departments”
and then “Emergency
Management.” The web-
site includes an online sur-
vey and public comments
will be accepted through
Jan. 18.
• Tsunami: Warrenton is
at extremely high risk due
to the prevalence of liquefi-
able soils, its reliance on le-
vees and its limited access to
evacuation areas, according
to the report. To see a map
of tsunami evacuation areas,
visit thecolumbiapress.com.
• Volcanic event: An event
similar to the eruption of
Mount St. Helens, which de-
livered less than a half-inch
of ash to the area, would be
expected.
• Wildfire: Generally, War-
renton is at low risk for wild-
fires due to its high coastal
humidity. But it could be
vulnerable during intermit-
tent dry periods with winds
coming from the east. About
29 percent of Warrenton
could be at high risk during
these times.
• Wind and winter storms:
Potential problems are high
based on the 2007 storm,
which caused a loss of pow-
er, communication, roads,
and access to Portland hos-
pitals.