Time to wear my honesty on my sleeve: I’m scared to death of walking along one of my favorite beaches next (or any) summer on the Oregon Coast and suddenly experiencing an earthquake that borders somewhere around an 8 or 9 magnitude. Mind you, I’ve never experienced even a small earthquake when walking on the Oregon Coast in any year of my life I’ve visited and partially lived there during the summer. By the time a person managed to get up off the treadmill-like sand from such an event and run to their car–they’d probably pass a familiar sign that I’ve seen for years now that almost everybody ignores. Right at the point where you enter the sand on a lot of Oregon beaches, a common sign you’ll see says “In the event of a tsunami following an earthquake–you only have five minutes to get to higher ground.” That’s right, you’re expected to run like your legs are composed of bionic materials, get into your car and make it fly over likely hundreds of panicked people in traffic into the hills before a giant wave comes crashing to shore–subsequently making the local community an underwear ghost town in a matter of minutes.
Well, survivability is possible if you’re at the right place and time and by sheer divine protection.
What you just read above is a very real possible scenario on the west coast of the United States as the process in the Pacific Ring of Fire and plate tectonics eventually will cause enough friction under the ocean to create a massive earthquake and tsunami not seen since the time of the Native-Americans who populated the area hundreds of years ago. At least the Native-Americans knew how to survive off nature after a literally earth-shattering event rather than depending on amenities that would be wiped out in such a calamity. It explains why the Native-Americans thrived throughout this local region for so long–even during the worst possible natural disaster scenarios. But considering everything would be underwater from a tsunami, it comes down in the modern era to finding unique ways to get out of the area fast if you’re in town. That’s easier said than done, which makes walking on any beach in the Pacific Northwest a bit of a risk as time goes on and no earthquake happens.
So how do we get an estimation on when that might happen so people in the NW United States can avoid going to the beach on the day “The Big One” happens? The Cascadia Subduction Zone that stretches from British Columbia down to Northern California is the most vulnerable spot for big earthquakes and the eruption of more volcanoes other than infamous Mt. St. Helens that erupted in 1980. That might surprise a lot of people when the Ring of Fire makes up the entire western quadrants of North and South America–plus all the Pacific islands who’ve experienced enough earthquakes lately to shake all understanding of nature to pieces. What’s haunting is the last biggest earthquakes that occurred off the coast of Oregon and Washington happened around 400-600 years ago–when it was almost exactly that time frame that elapsed in-between the last half-a-dozen during a 3,500-year period. In a strange, ironic way–British Columbia may be in better shape, because they’ve had major quakes there as recently as 1970 (an incredible 7.4 quake). Northern California, Oregon and Washington are just sitting and waiting within the eerie stillness when that 400-600-year earthquake due date is happening right now.
Mind you, small earthquakes have happened numerous times in the Northwest United States. They seldom get reported on a national basis–but the valley of Oregon had a 5.4 during spring break of 1993 that I remember vividly based on the shaking that felt much stronger than 5.4. Since then, we’ve had numerous small quakes on various fault lines. In fact, when it comes to seismic faults–much of the valley of Washington and Oregon have thousands of them that could cause anywhere from mild to severe damage. But it’s what happens out in the Pacific Ocean and the shifting of the tectonic plates where we really have to worry. That Northwest one, in particular, is slowly colliding with the Aleutian Islands plate that puts us right in with Southern California worrying about a Big One. Even though the epicenter would be off the coast–more than half of Northern California, Oregon and Washington would be affected beyond anybody’s comprehension.
Just how would a rock n’ roll situation play out when walking on the beach?
Yeah, I wish I was only talking about a music festival on the beach. Well, scratch that idea–because the Oregon Coast wouldn’t want all the garbage (or all those crazy people either) during a cleanup. Instead, an earthquake when walking on the highly-appealing Oregon beaches seems like an utterly foreign concept when so many generations have been taken in by its appealing and relaxing surroundings. The Oregon Coast has always provided a sense of going into another world for me away from the dangers or cares of the world. In more recent years, though, I frequently walk on the beach during the summer and get overwhelmed with thoughts whether that day will be the day that big quake hits. And while I’ve experienced an earthquake on flat land in the valley–I really have no idea how an earthquake (let alone a massive one) would feel like when walking on the thick sand near the beach.
Based on descriptions from geologists and seismologists–you’d obviously be knocked down on your face on the sand if a massive 7-9 quake hit. The ocean would probably start rumbling and behaving erratically, too, which gives indications that a tsunami might hit within minutes. I’ve never understood how a tsunami can potentially strike along the coast within five minutes of a quake–but, as we’ve seen in the horrifying tsunami in Sumatra, Indonesia the day after Christmas in 2004–it’s something people have to take seriously as a natural reality. It also makes those tsunami warning signs posted along Oregon beaches I mentioned earlier all the more ignorant somehow. Then again, you don’t want a tsunami sign warning you that you wouldn’t have a chance if you’re already a mile up the beach when a big earthquake hits.
I’ve long figured that if it looks impossible for me to run to my car and speed away into the hills following an earthquake–then the beach is probably the best place to die other than being at home with family. All I and anyone else can pray for, however, is just not to have the misfortune of walking along the beach when this event happens perhaps tomorrow or at any point over the next 100 years. Despite it also affecting the valleys–at least there you wouldn’t have to worry about being carried away by a giant tsunami wave.
Then again, just who are we listening to when it comes to forming a visualization of how and when this supposedly inevitable event will happen?
Going after the tsunami wave of prognosticators…
It’s easy to get roped into the visions of international psychics who get predictions of what kind of natural changes the Earth is going to experience in coming years. While we know that’s already happening around the world, I’ve had to endure seeing dozens of prognosticators who’ve given explicit details on what’s supposed to happen in this area once that subduction zone quake hits. Many of them predicted situations ten years ago that were supposed to have happened over five years ago, but obviously haven’t. That makes the ticking clock all the more mysterious and ominous.
I remember one in particular from a psychic (remaining nameless so he doesn’t get publicity) who put together elaborate maps showing what would happen up in the Northwest United States after a massive coastal quake that was supposed to hit around 2000. Thankfully, the quake didn’t hit–but I used to sweat seeing this particular psychic’s widely-publicized terrain maps showing that the Pacific Ocean would consume half the state of Oregon–including the valley. While overly incredible that a tsunami wave would travel that far inland–scientists backed it up by saying it’s theoretically possible based on what happened hundreds of years ago. Most of the valley of Oregon and Washington were underwater at one time due to similar situations.
And so the haunting visions of the Pacific Ocean sweeping my home away also added to the nightmares. The more likely scenario, however, has been said to be that a tsunami would just bury the coastal communities rather than traveling all the way through the coastal mountains and into the valleys. The only time the Pacific Ocean would wipe out half the state would be during a cataclysmic earthquake never seen before by modern civilizations. That means somewhere beyond a 9 on the Richter scale, which might or might not be possible here. Anywhere between a 6 to a 9 is basically the limit of what we’re supposed to expect.
Now, at the end of 2007, some people are saying the Bible Code predicts some more dramatic seismic turbulence for the Pacific Ring of Fire in 2008. Of course, if there’s truth to the Bible Code truly existing (and I’ve seen compelling evidence there’s elements of truth to it)–you also have those who manage to find words and phrases that aren’t really there in reality. It’s easy for those who try to predict things to say the Pacific regions are vulnerable to dramatic seismic activity-because the odds are always good for such a scenario. With all the increasing earthquakes in Japan, Indonesia and other Pacific Islands throughout 2007, though, it makes me concerned that a chain reaction may be underway. What happens in one part of a natural chain in nature will likely happen on the other end eventually as what happens with weather patterns from east to west in the mainland of the U.S.
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Don’t let this ever discourage you from visiting the beautiful beaches of Oregon for relaxation and family fun. Just keep the possibility of what I’ve said in the back of your mind and have a solid faith system with you that you’ll be guided away to safety if you’re there when it happens. If you love the beach as much as I do–you have to think of the realities of every danger in this romantic yet massive natural landscape and keep a visualized idea of what you might do to survive if you have to within the realms of certain terrain and utter chaos from panicked people.
