With the ever-present threat of a 9.0 megathrust earthquake occurring offshore leading to an apocalyptic tsunami an absolute certainty for coastal communities in the Pacific Northwest within the next 150 years or so, officials in Washington State have proposed a network of 58 fortified evacuation towers for locals to escape to during the deluge as the best solution to the catastrophe, the New York Times reports. The towers, modeled after Japanese shelters which saved countless lives in the tsunami that followed the massive 2011 Tohoku earthquake, would cost $3 million each.
This, short of condemning the homes of tens of thousands of Washingtonians and forcing them to relocate inland, is the most viable solution to the 100% certain destruction of their towns. The shelters are large enough to accommodate about 380 people each, or 22,000 in total, but would still be insufficient to hold all those in the path of a wave should it strike during the summer with beachgoers present in the coastal towns. Experts estimate that those in the flood zone would have 10 to 20 minutes max to escape the incoming tsunami – immediately after the strongest recorded earthquake ever to hit the continental United States. Again, this is 100% guaranteed to happen.