Oregon Public Broadcasting

The State of Oregon has settled on a standard siren sound that you'd hear in coastal towns when a tsunami warning goes out.  Washington state has already done so. 

Oregon's Emergency Management Office described the previous array of tsunami warning sounds as a "mish mash." 

The 46 loudspeaker towers along Washington beaches send out a different tsunami warning alert.  That oscillating signal resembles a digitized ambulance siren. 

Either way, both Washington and Oregon say these sirens primarily serve to warn of a tsunami generated far away.

If there's a near-shore earthquake, the shaking is your warning to run to higher ground.