disaster preparedness Archives - Northwest Public Broadcasting

New flood management plan considers more flooding types

By Lauren Gallup October 19, 2023

In Pierce County, levee setbacks have been completed along rivers, including the Puyallup. This picture shows the river running near the Orville Road Setback Revetment. Projects like these are included in the new flood hazard management plan. (Credit: Lauren Gallup / NWPB)

After about five years in the works, the Pierce County Council adopted a new Comprehensive Flood Hazard Management Plan that broadens the scope of what kinds of flooding the county will plan for – from coastal to urban flooding. Angela Angove is the floodplain and watershed services manager with Pierce County Planning and Public Works. She said different types of Read More

Coastal Washington Tribe Creates Higher Ground By Building Tsunami Tower, First Of Its Type Here

By Tom Banse August 10, 2022

The first free-standing tsunami refuge in North America is now open in Tokeland in Pacific County, Washington.

There is a new option to escape a tsunami if you’re on the southwest coast of Washington when the Big One strikes. The Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe on Friday dedicated a 50-foot tall evacuation tower in Tokeland, Washington. Tribal leaders and the Federal Emergency Management Agency said the new tsunami refuge platform should be an example and inspiration for other Read More

By Air And By Bike, Civilian Pilots And Cyclists Rehearse Delivering Aid After ‘The Big One’

By Tom Banse June 10, 2022

Private pilots and cyclists will separately take to the air and the streets this month to practice delivering relief supplies after a catastrophic earthquake.

A huge dress rehearsal for regional earthquake disaster relief was supposed to happen next week until the ongoing pandemic forced its cancellation. The scrubbed Cascadia Rising exercise would have involved more than 22,000 participants – chiefly U.S. soldiers, sailors and airmen as well as state, local and tribal emergency planners. Some smaller drills are going ahead this Read More

Hundreds Of Washington Schools Start Academic Year With Failing Grade On Quake Safety

By Tom Banse September 8, 2021

The Qushan Primary School ruins, where a total of 407 teachers and students were killed when a 7.9 magnitude earthquake hit China’s Sichuan province in 2008.

Tens of thousands of public school students in Washington state returned to classes this month in school buildings judged to be at risk of collapse in a strong earthquake. A new report to the state Legislature prepared by state geologists and a structural engineering firm gave the lowest possible seismic safety rating to more than 90 percent of the school buildings Read More