Tillamook County Shake Out & Move Out – Earthquake & Tsunami Drill October 19, 10:19 am

On Thursday – 10/19 at 10:19 a.m., the nation will hold a national earthquake drill called the Great ShakeOut. Here’s how Oceansiders can take part in our own drill.

What Oceanside can Expect.  Geologists have long warned that the Pacific Coast is overdue for a major seismic event and an accompanying tsunami. There is better than a 35% chance of such an event within the next 50 years. In Oceanside, we can anticipate that the beach, the State Park parking lots, structures along Pacific Avenue and Rosenberg Loop will be inundated and require immediate evacuation. (See map below.) Cell service will almost certainly go down, rendering 911 calls to emergency responders unavailable.

What Oceanside is Doing to Prepare: With no government funds or staff, a small group of dedicated Oceanside Neighborhood Association volunteers (the Oceanside Emergency Preparedness Team) has been quietly researching options and taking some initial steps to help us manage these risks. Several years ago, the group researched Go Bags (evacuation supply packs). It negotiated a discounted package, took orders and delivered scores of them to interested Oceansiders. More recently, the Team divided the Village into “sectors” and has nearly completed the task of recruiting full-time contacts in each one who have received handheld radios donated by the Netarts-Oceanside Volunteer Firefighters Assn. They will serve as our alternate emergency communications network when disaster strikes. Finally, the Team is working to re-equip the Oceanside Chapel to serve as an assembly center when visitors and residents are forced to flee the inundation zones.

The Emergency Preparedness Team’s goals for our first participation in a “ShakeOut” are modest but critical. First, when the cell phone Emergency Alert issues on Thursday at 10:19, the “contacts” or “Sector Captains” in each of our Village neighborhoods will turn on their handheld radios and participate in a practice drill with our volunteer “hub” or “central Command.”  The hub will also test its radio communications with Chief Carpenter and the Fire/Emergency staff. The second goal involves a dry run evacuation (see below).

The Emergency Preparedness Team needs Oceansiders to be on the beach at 10:19 a.m. on Thursday – either at the Centennial Steps access or Symons Point – to see whether the national Emergency Alert actually reaches people on the beach. Then, at 10:20 a.m., they are asking folks to note the time and walk from the beach to the Oceanside Chapel at 1590 Chinook Avenue (at the intersection with Ocean Street) in the Village. (The Chapel is where visitors will be directed in the event of a beach evacuation.) Volunteers will be there to note (1) whether you received the Alert on the beach, (2) what cell provider you use and (3) how long it took you to walk from the beach to the Chapel. The ONA Emergency Team will gather thiis data to report it to the County Emergency Management office after the ShakeOut Drill.  While residents probably won’t be making such a walk during an emergency, it will help the Team plan logistics for the beach visitors we will need to help evacuate.

THURSDAY‘S FORECAST IS FOR MILD WEATHER!  LET’S HELP THE HARDWORKING EMERGENCY TEAM WITH ITS EFFORT BY GROUPING WITH OUR NEIGHBORS ON THE BEACH FOR A SHORT WALK THROUGH THE VILLAGE.  

Some credit where due.  Finally, who are the Oceanside volunteers who are working so hard on our behalf?  They are Rob Hoeper and John Prather, the Team co-chairs who committed to emergency planning for the village well before COVID and have never stopped. Volunteer firefighter Gil Wiggin has also worked hard on the team and serves as its Liaison to the Fire/Emergency Department. Thank them if you seem them in the village – and ask how else you can help.

And that’s the view from Oceanside!