Cannon Beach Tsunami Inundation and Evacuation Study

Tappister developed a comprehensive tsunami evacuation simulator for Cannon Beach, Oregon. We collected data from various sources including geographical data, infrastructure and building data, demographic data, and hydrodynamic data. Our model integrates warning transmission with evacuation processes and outputs human casualty counts.

Final Report

Download the Final Report (PDF, 15.4MB)

Single Evacuation Videos

Comparison Videos

Journal excerpt

Several simulations were run for a tsunami event originating from the Cascadia subduction zone, which is the most probable near-source tsunami scenario affecting Cannon Beach. We quantitatively determined the effectiveness of a tsunami evacuation building (TEB) for vertical evacuation and the effectiveness of an earthquake hardened bridge across Ecola Creek at the site of the current roadway bridge. Our results show an 11% reduction in fatalities if a TEB is constructed at the present City Hall location on Gower Avenue. Proper construction of a bridge could reduce fatalities by 55%; however we found that the bridge must be constructed with sufficiently high elevation. We also demonstrate that a TEB at an alternate location near the intersection of Washington St and Spruce St is more effective than at Gower Ave: such a TEB could reduce fatalities by 65%.