Can You Beat A Tsunami On Foot? New State Maps Let You Know

PORT ANGELES, WA — It's July 2019, and you and your family are debarking the ferry from Victoria, B.C., in downtown Port Angeles. As you drive your car out of the ferry, something goes wrong.

The ground starts moving, violently. The big one, a Cascadia subduction zone quake, is happening. If you make it through the shaking, your mind might turn to the next threat: tsunami. You'll have a short window to get to higher ground to escape the deadly waves racing toward land.

Will you make it? It's depends on how fast you can move. This week, the state Department of Natural Resources debuted new walk maps for places around Puget Sound to show you how long it might take to get to higher ground on foot.

In Port Angeles, you would have a cushion of about 60 minutes before the waves arrive. Luckily, you can slowly walk at about 2.4 MPH from the city's ferry dock and make it to higher ground in about 30 minutes. But from other spots in the city, you'll need to move faster. If you're out on the Ediz Hook, you'd have to move at about 3.4 MPH.

The state has so far released tsunami walk maps for six Puget Sound and coastal cities, including Anacortes, Bellingham, Cosmopolis, Hoquiam, and Aberdeen.

The maps, of course, are only an estimate. It might take much longer to get to higher ground due to earthquake damage. If there's a toppled building or ruptured gas line in your way, your walk time will increase.

"The public should use these maps before the tsunami occurs, by learning the routes ahead of time for home, work, and school," the DNR said.

Want to study up? You can view each map here on the state tsunami evacuation page.