Friday, April 1, 2022 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com • A3
With ‘big one,’ sirens
won’t be necessary
shaking and it is safe to do so, people
should follow their own pre-planned
safety emergency evacuation plan.
People should have in place a plan on
foot as well as by car since roads may
be disrupted by an earthquake. There
are several tsunami evacuation routes
and there are large tsunami evacuation
route symbols on the roads throughout
the town to follow to higher ground.
Seaside provides Nixle alerts peo-
ple can sign up for and receive notifi -
cations by text or email.
The county also has an emergency
notifi cation system and in an extreme
situation has the ability to ping all cell
phones in a specifi c area and send out
emergency notifi cations.
By R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
When the big one hits, it will be
immediately felt, with quakes lead-
ing to a potential tsunami 20 minutes
later.
The quake, which will strike with-
out warning, will lead to wave heights
of 30 to 45 feet and higher. Seven out
of 11 bridges will fall down in a tsu-
nami, geologist Tom Horning said.
If the ground is shaking, that is your
fi rst warning that a major Cascadia
Subduction Zone event is underway.
Do not wait for a siren to get to
higher ground. Once the ground stops
Sirens: Test is typically broadcast voice only
Continued from Page A1
spending the money, that we were putting way
too much into the sirens because they weren’t
really going to save lives. On the one hand, they
have marginal value to life and safety and a high
demand for attention and care. The thing that
saves lives is getting your butt up and out the
door.”
Distant tsunami warning
Seaside operates an emergency warning sys-
tem composed of a series of speakers mounted
on poles around the city. In the event of a sudden
emergency such as a distant tsunami, the warn-
ing system will be activated to alert individu-
als of the threat. The sirens emit an intermittent
3-minute blast. The emergency warning system
is not intended to be audible indoors, but to warn
those near the water along beaches, docks and
estuaries to move to higher ground.
Before World War II, the bell that is now at
the top of the fi re station was used
to alert volunteer fi refi ghters to a
fi re in the city. After the end of the
war, the sirens continued as a fi re
alert for volunteers until 1991 on
the fi rst day of the Persian Gulf
War.
Today there are six warning
sirens in Seaside: 24th and North
1
Holladay, 11th and Broadway,
Broadway east of Wahanna, Ave-
ASSEMBLY AREA
nue G at the Prom, public works,
and the Cove and Seltzer Park.
Additional sirens are located in
Gearhart at Little Beach and at the
N
10th Street beach entrance.
The city activated warning
W
E
sirens in 2011 after the Fukushima,
S
Japan, quake, leading many to
evacuate to higher ground and an
emergency response.
Seaside’s sirens were not trig-
2 ASSEMBLY AREA
gered by January’s distant Tonga
quake.
3 ASSEMBLY AREA
“We act based on all informa-
tion at hand and we monitor what
other communities are doing as far
away as Hawaii, Alaska,” Moberg
said. “Social media, the national
alert system and other tools are
4 ASSEMBLY AREA
all useful in helping us know what
is coming. When the last tsunami
BRIDGE
low-level warning activation hap-
ESTIMATED LARGE TSUNAMI
pened, we could observe a surge of
INUNDATION LINE
tide down south of us well before
EVACUATION ROUTE
it traveled up the coast. We lives-
treamed several diff erent areas of
1 EVACUATION ZONE 1
the coast in an emergency opera-
tion center that was fully opera-
EVACUATION ZONE 2
2
tional. We also erred on the side
of caution and had safety patrols
3 EVACUATION ZONE 3
request people get off the beach.”
seaside tsunami evacuation map
26 TH
1 If you feel an earthquake
Drop, cover and hold. After the
earthquake, don’t wait for an official
warning, head immediately ON
FOOT out of the tsunami inundation
zone. (It is estimated you’ll have 20
minutes to reach higher ground.)
24 TH
AVE M
E DG
EW
OO
2 ND
TE
R
E
D
BIA
G
AVE S
GRO
VE
LU M
CO
IN
OR
SH
HILLTOP
Spruce
COOPER
AV E
U
OC
EA
N
S WAHANNA
AVE J
AVE Q
AVE B
LINCOLN
KLIN
HOLLADA
Y
FR AN
SOU
TH PR
OM
B EAC
H
G
101
D
BLV
101
BAYVIEW
ASSEMBLY AREA
0 .1 .2 .3 .4
Kilometers
Alder DR
AN
OCE
IFIC
AV E
AVE N
IST
A
WAHANNA
RO
HO
BROADWAY
BROADWAY
AVE A
AVE I
W
O
VE L
T DR
OS E
LL A
DAY
M
4 TH
2 ND
AV E K
D
8 TH
1 ST AVE.
AVE L
N V
5 TH
RA
CE
H OL
N.
IN
M BIA
COLU
ICU
N EC
5 TH
AN
NOR
TH PR
OM
6 TH
4 TH
3 RD
2 ND
PAC
ET
9 TH
8 TH
7 TH
12 TH AVE.
BEERMAN CREEK LANE
0
.1
.2
.3
E
NS
13 TH
12 TH AVE.
IN
YL
SU
17 TH
15 TH
SK
Special Tsunami
Hazard Area
Avoid after 20 minutes
during active tsunami threat.
16 TH
11 TH
10 TH
9 TH
3 Stay in the assembly area
5
18 TH
FR ANKL
Locate which zone you’re in on the
map, and follow that evacuation route
to the designated assembly area.
(Note: Some of the bridges highlighted
on the map may be difficult to cross
after an earthquake, but these are the
recommended routes at this time.)
L ADA
Y
101
2 Where to go?
Remain in the assembly area
until you’re instructed otherwise.
Aftershocks and tsunami waves are
expected to continue for hours
after the initial event.
WAHANN
A
LEWIS & CLARK
RD
4
.4
EVACUATION ZONE 4
Miles
5
EVACUATION ZONE 5
Testing
All eight sirens should be fully
operational, public information
offi cer Esther Moberg said. “We
will be testing that again thoroughly in April
with a staff person at each siren in person.”
“The sirens are tested once a month with a
break during June-August,” she said. “The test
is typically broadcast voice only and is not the
actual sirens. You will be able to hear the sirens
clearly in the event of an emergency.”
Sometimes people report they do not hear
a siren, she said. “Because we are only testing
a voice-operated test, this is not always heard
indoors,” she said.
Testing is limited to once a month so people
don’t become complacent that in the real sce-
nario, no one reacts.
“That would be very unfortunate,” Moberg
said. “Once a month is plenty to make sure sirens
are working and people have a chance to listen in
without disrupting anyone’s daily lives.”
The test isn’t always launched exactly at
11 a.m. either — it is typically between 11 a.m.
and noon — so sometimes people miss it as well.
“In the past we have noticed that sirens would
bounce off each other when set off at the same
exact time so during a test they will be some-
times released in a sequence to prevent sound
wave reverberation,” Anne McBride, the city’s
emergency preparedness coordinator, said.
“Wind speed can also be a factor for not hearing
the tones. Tones are best heard when there are no
obstructions in the sound path.”
The city doesn’t test during summer in order
not to cause undue panic to visitors, Moberg
said. “When the real alarms go off , everyone will
hear it. If it is truly the highest level of alert, the
county will send information to all cell phones in
the area. We simply don’t see the need to cause
panic and concern when the peak amount of peo-
ple are in our city, nor cause a crisis that doesn’t
exist at that moment in time.”
The city maintains a report that shows all are
tested and whether or not the signal is received,
she said. “We also listen to public comments on
where and when they heard the siren (or do not).
That said, people don’t always hear the test if
they are indoors and other noises are going on
in the house.”
In an emergency, the communications offi cer
or a public information offi cer, as well as other
incident command staff for the city’s emergency
operations center, would have the protocols nec-
essary to activate sirens.
The command is typically given by the inci-
dent commander of the emergency operations at
the time. City department heads and other city
staff train regularly in emergency operations
whenever necessary.
The city will be testing the sirens on April
6 with a staff person at each siren location,
McBride said.
“Be prepared, sign up for Nixle alerts, have
an emergency evacuation safe route or plan to
get to higher ground,” Moberg said. “If you
need medications or other assistance, be sure
your neighbors or loved ones who are nearby are
aware and if possible keep extras in your emer-
gency go-bag or ready to grab as you head out
the door.”
Jennifer North will be listening, she said “with
fi ngers crossed hoping that it works this time.”
Whales: Spring migration time for killer whales
Continued from Page A1
two distinct assemblages,
or communities, within that
group: coastal transients and
outer coast transients.
They’ve noticed other
trends among the whales
since marine biologist
Michael Bigg fi rst identifi ed
them decades ago.
“Transients were very
much roamers: They would
spend their time going
from one area to another,”
McInnes said. “Now, we’re
starting to see a bit of a
change. They’re not so tran-
sient anymore.”
Unlike resident orcas,
transients travel in smaller
pods, with the average
group size being four to fi ve
individuals.
“By staying in smaller
family groups, they’re able
to use the element of sur-
prise and able to sneak up on
their prey, as well as using
coordination when hunting,”
McInnes said.
The diet of transient
killer whales is somewhat
seasonal, with a big part of it
consisting of harbor seals —
the most abundant marine
mammal species in the
Pacifi c Northwest. Because
of that, there also tends to be
an increase in sightings of
transient killer whales on the
Oregon Coast in late spring
and early summer, during
pupping season.
Their community struc-
ture is matrilinear, mean-
ing a mother and her off -
spring. They typically stay
with their family for life,
although there is occasion-
ally some dispersal when the
whales hit sexual maturity at
14 to 15 years old.
“We can kind of fol-
low these family matrilines
throughout their lives. It’s
quite spectacular,” McInnes
said, adding they conduct
complete census work that
includes information on
mortality and birth rights.
From 2006 to 2018, they
collected more than 113,000
photographs of transient
killer whales from nearly
150 encounters. From these
photographs, they identi-
fi ed 150 individuals and 30
matrilineal groups.
Emerging research
There’s another group
of killer whales emerging
on which there is very lit-
tle research: oceanic killer
whales. A total of 40 oceanic
killer whales were identi-
fi ed between 1997 and 2021.
Camp Kiwanilong
Bottle and Can
Drop Off Event
They are predominately
found seaward of the conti-
nental shelf.
There are no links in
association between these
whales and outer coast tran-
sient killer whales, McInnes
said, adding, “We’re not
sure where they fi t in.”
“We’re still learning new
things about killer whales
in the open ocean,” he said.
“It’s an exciting time for us.”
To view McInnes’ full
presentation
on
killer
whales, visit the Friends of
Haystack Rock Facebook
page or YouTube channel.
The organization’s Library
Series features recurring
lectures that include diff er-
ent speakers and topics. The
events are held on the sec-
ond Wednesday of every
month from November to
May.
Selena Rivera
Killer whale seen off the Pacifi c Coast.
Visit
The
Farm
Stand
at
It’s
Nursery
season
on the
farm
When: April 10th, 2022 10am to 2pm
Where:
605 SE Ensign Lane Warrenton
Old Seaside High School Gym Parking Lot
1901 N. Holladay Drive Seaside
If you would like to arrange another time to drop cans
off at Camp Kiwanilong you can contact our Ranger at:
campkiwanilongreservations@gmail.com
Thank you from the Camp K Family
We will not be
able to take
glass bottles.
Cans and
Plastic only!
Mother’s Day Flower Basket Delivery
Register at: www.BlackBerryBogFarm.com
Find us on Facebook
& Instagram
Please stop by our family farm for:
• Hanging baskets
• Planters
• Vegetable Starts
• Flowers - Annuals & Perennials
• Herbs (find fun new varieties)
• Fruit trees, blueberry bushes,
berry canes and other starts
Walk through the
garden, pick up
some fresh baked
goods and stock
up on locally made
jams and jellies!
Open Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday 10 to 5
Located just off Highway 30 east of Astoria in Svensen
40271 Old Highway 30, Astoria, OR