Oregon Public Broadcasting

Tillamook County held its first large-scale tsunami drill Tuesday.  As Pete Springer reports, residents of Manzanita, Wheeler, Nehalem, and Pacific City tested out their evacuation routes on foot.

Alarm: “Tsunami warning.  Evacuate to higher ground immediately”

The drill started with an audio warning but it was difficult to hear in downtown Manzanita.  The warning alarms were a different matter.

The evacuation was voluntary --  the streets appeared to have more volunteers in orange vests directing people than residents posing as evacuees.

Dan Nichols was among those heading for higher ground.

Dan Nichols “To understand the route, and to know where we’re meeting and to sort of time it, how long it takes us.  So we understand how much time we actually have to get out.”

Nichols says it took about ten minutes on foot to get from his house to safe ground.  He joined about two dozen others at an assembly area to fill out a questionnaire on the drill.

County officials say the drill was successful -- if just for the planning and coordination they completed to hold the event.