INSIDE

In case of a big kahuna...

By Meg Olson

The state’s emergency management division has confirmed Point Roberts will be one of the sites of the state’s tsunami warning system, and siren tests will start next month.

“It’s a combination siren and loudspeaker which can be operated remotely or we can do it locally,” said Point Roberts fire chief Bill Skinner.

Emergency Management Division (EMD) personnel will be working on where to put the siren in July, Skinner said, trying to find a single location that could alert people in the Point’s two tsunami hazard zones. “We want to hit both low sides,” Skinner said.

An EMD brochure on the tsunami risk in Point Roberts identifies hazard zones as Maple Beach and the low-lying areas from Paul’s Road around Lighthouse Marine Park to the Reef and inland up to the corner of Gulf Road and Tyee Drive.

The sirens are intended to warn the community of a “distant tsunami,” one generated by a distant earthquake, which will not reach the area for several hours, allowing a warning system to be activated. In the event of a “local tsunami,” generated by a closer earthquake, the first wave could reach the shore only minutes after the ground stops shaking.

“If you feel the ground shake, evacuate inland or to high ground immediately,” the brochure cautions. “A wave as high as 12 feet could reach Point Roberts within two and a half hours of the quake. The first wave is often not the largest; successive waves may be spaced many minutes apart and continue to arrive for several hours. Return only after emergency officials say it is safe.” Any sudden drops or rises in sea level are also a warning to evacuate.