Contact: Steven Friederich: (253) 344-0253 | steven.friederich@mil.wa.gov
Port Contact: Molly Bold: (360) 533-9585 | mbold@portgreys.org
The Washington Emergency Management Department (EMD) has finalized a tsunami maritime response and mitigation strategy for Westport Marina to help the community understand tsunami risks and what protective measures will be taken to enhance life safety and protect property. What should I do to help? This is a strategy developed by the Port of Grays Harbor and the City of Westport with other partners.
This is the second maritime strategy developed for Washington State. In 2021, the state helped develop a similar strategy for the Port of Bellingham. A new strategy is currently being developed for the Anacortes region.
Danté DiSabatino, EMD’s Tsunami Program Coordinator, said, “One of the facilities most vulnerable to tsunamis is harbors, harbors and marinas, which are typically located along the coastlines of development areas.” The ability of ports, harbors and marinas to withstand disasters and quickly resume operations will be a key driver of community and economic recovery in the short and long term.”
The Port of Grays’ Westport Marina and its elevated activities support nearly 2,300 jobs and more than $227 million in business revenue each year in rural southwest Washington, according to Port.
“The Westport Marina Tsunami Marine Response and Mitigation Strategy is an integral part of South Beach’s overall resilience plan,” said Kevin Goodrich, Director of Westport Public Works. “The City of Westport and the Port of Grays Harbor provide services and infrastructure to a broad group of shared users, so it is important to have a cohesive tsunami mitigation strategy. and partnering on projects like the city’s proposed tsunami vertical evacuation structures in the Marina District.”
Grays Port Commission Chairman Tom Quigg said, “I would like to thank the wonderful people at the Washington Emergency Management Department for putting together a thoughtful and comprehensive plan for Westport Marina.” Their knowledge and expertise in response and mitigation strategies has resulted in very useful and proactive planning documents and resources for marina users and surrounding communities.”
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Department of Commerce funded EMD and worked with port and regional partners to advance tsunami preparedness activities. The Washington Department of Natural Resources, the Washington Sea Grant, and the University of Washington also played key roles in completing the report.
In addition to this strategy, new protective guidance for seafarers has been developed, along with plans to distribute the guidance to charter captains, commercial fishermen, local U.S. Coast Guards and others.
“The biggest takeaway from developing this strategy is that there are actionable steps that people at all levels can take to save lives and minimize the impact of tsunamis on marinas and their sailors. These procedures are applicable to many of the state’s vulnerable ports, harbors and marinas,” Disabatino said.
Hundreds of commercial vessels use Westport Marina to harvest Dungeness crab, salmon, albacore tuna and more year-round.
The Tsunami Maritime Response and Mitigation Strategy looks at actions Westport Marina can take prior to a tsunami, from evacuation to repositioning vessels within the harbor.
The strategy includes a new tsunami inundation model showing what would happen during the devastating 9.0 Cascadia Trench earthquake and another model showing the effects of the 9.2 Alaska earthquake.
“With this strategy, we first look at what the Alaskan scenario looks like,” Disabatino said, noting that both local and distant tsunamis are considered in order to understand the risks. He added that it is imperative to create new, updated models for the largest scenarios encountered. What protective measures should be taken to mitigate risks? (In this video he learns the difference between the two).
Due to the devastating damage of the Cascadia Trench earthquake, some issues may not be resolved. However, mitigation may occur before the tsunami caused by the earthquake in Alaska. As an example, Disabatino points out that there is one port-owned chemical storage tank that can be capped if a tsunami is approaching. Developing emergency procedures for marina staff to cap storage tanks before waves arrive, mitigating potential spill of hundreds of gallons of used oil and complicating cleanup of existing debris and spills may become. There is no suitable location for storage tanks outside of the localized tsunami flooding zone of the Cascadia subduction zone, but water and debris is expected throughout the region, so keep the storage tanks above Alaska flood levels. It is possible. present location.
Other indicators look at signs, dock pile size and stability, etc.
“These response and mitigation measures will help save lives, make marinas more resilient, reduce the time it takes for marinas to recover, and allow vital parts of our maritime infrastructure and economy to recover.” Disabatino said.
Read the report at this link. Find out more about Westport Marina.
