USGS, NOAA, FEMA

U.S. Geological Survey
Data Series 236
Version 1.0

Seaside, Oregon, Tsunami Pilot Study—Modernization of FEMA Flood Hazard Maps: GIS Data

by Florence L. Wong1, Angie J. Venturato2, and Eric L. Geist1

2006

1U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, California.

2Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean (JISAO), University of Washington, Box 354235, Seattle, WA 98115, and NOAA/PMEL Center for Tsunami Research, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115.

Introduction

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Federal Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) guidelines do not currently exist for conducting and incorporating tsunami hazard assessments that reflect the substantial advances in tsunami research achieved in the last two decades; this conclusion is the result of two FEMA-sponsored workshops and the associated Tsunami Focused Study (Chowdhury and others, 2005). Therefore, as part of FEMA's Map Modernization Program, a Tsunami Pilot Study was carried out in the Seaside/Gearhart, Oregon, area to develop an improved Probabilistic Tsunami Hazard Analysis (PTHA) methodology and to provide recommendations for improved tsunami hazard assessment guidelines (Tsunami Pilot Study Working Group, 2006). The Seaside area was chosen because it is typical of many coastal communities in the section of the Pacific Coast from Cape Mendocino to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and because State agencies and local stakeholders expressed considerable interest in mapping the tsunami threat to this area. The study was an interagency effort by FEMA, U.S. Geological Survey, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), in collaboration with the University of Southern California, Middle East Technical University, Portland State University, Horning Geoscience, Northwest Hydraulics Consultants, and the Oregon Department of Geological and Mineral Industries. We present the spatial (geographic information system, GIS) data from the pilot study in standard GIS formats and provide files for visualization in Google Earth, a global map viewer.


Perspective view of 500-year tsunami in the Seaside/Gearhart, Oregon, pilot study area. Tsunami wave heights (m, referenced to mean high water) with a 0.2 percent annual probability of exceedance. Wave heights include the effects of tides. Vertical exaggeration 10x; view looks southeastward.

Perspective view of 500-year tsunami in the Seaside/Gearhart, Oregon, pilot study area.


Revisions and Updates

This GIS compilation will be revised and updated as new data become available. The most flexible way to do this will be to post changes on the publication's web page at https://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/2006/236/, and changes will be noted in version_history.txt. The hosting site may change. If there is no forwarding link, go the the USGS home page (http://www.usgs.gov) and search for keywords "Seaside tsunami GIS."

Top

Acknowledgments

This research is partially funded by the NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL), Contribution no. 2982, and the Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean under NOAA Cooperative Agreement No. NA67RJ0155, Contribution no. 1336. We gratefully acknowledge the helpful reviews of and technical assistance on this document by Pete Dartnell, Jesse Varner, Paula Dunbar, Laura Torresan, Carolyn Degnan, Jim Hendley, and Mike Diggles. Any use of trade names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

Tsunami Pilot Study Working Group

Frank González NOAA/PMEL
Eric Geist U.S. Geological Survey
Costas Synolakis Univ. of Southern California
Diego Arcas NOAA/PMEL
Doug Bellomo FEMA, Dept. of Homeland Security
David Carlton FEMA, Dept. of Homeland Security
Tom Horning Horning Geoscience
Bruce Jaffe U.S. Geological Survey
Jeff Johnson Northwest Hydraulics Consultants
Utku Kanoglu Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey
Hal Mofjeld NOAA/PMEL
Jean Newman NOAA/PMEL
Tom Parsons U.S. Geological Survey
Robert Peters U.S. Geological Survey
Curt Peterson Portland State University
George Priest Oregon Dept. of Geology & Minerals
Vasily Titov NOAA/PMEL
Angie Venturato  NOAA/PMEL
Joe Weber FEMA, Dept. of Homeland Security
Florence  Wong U.S. Geological Survey
Ahmet Yalciner Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey
Top

For more information, contact

Florence L. Wong
United States Geological Survey
Coastal and Marine Geology Program
345 Middlefield Road, MS 999
Menlo Park, California 94025

Angie J. Venturato
NOAA Center for Tsunami Research
NOAA/PMEL - UW/JISAO
7600 Sand Point Way, NE
Seattle, Washington, US 98115

Eric L. Geist
United States Geological Survey
Coastal and Marine Geology Program
345 Middlefield Road, MS 999
Menlo Park, California 94025

Version history

Suggested citation:
Wong, F.L., Venturato, A.J., and Geist, E.L., 2006, Seaside, Oregon, tsunami pilot study—Modernization of FEMA flood hazard maps: GIS Data: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 236 [https://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/2006/236/].

   Report Home 
  -Introduction
-Revisions and Updates
-Acknowledg­ments
-Contacts

Data Description

Data Catalog

References


see also:
USGS OFR 2006-1234:
Seaside, Oregon, Tsunami Pilot Study - Modernization of FEMA Flood Hazard Maps

USGS Western Coastal & Marine Geology (WCMG)

NOAA Center for Tsunami Research

FEMA National Flood Insurance Program

Top | Menu | Abbreviations

Accessibility FOIA Privacy Policies and Notices

Take Pride in America home page.FirstGov buttonU.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
URL: https://pubsdata.usgs.gov/pubs/ds/2006/236/index.shtml
Page Contact Information: Florence L. Wong
Page Last Modified: Monday, 28-Nov-2016 12:04:10 EST(flw)