The frequent flooding of the Willapa River poses significant risk to surrounding populations by obstructing travel routes, community events, and causes safety issues in infrastructure. The goal of this work is to increase flood response, decrease severity of flood hazards, and adapt understandings of disaster preparedness for coastal communities living along the lower Willapa River, Washington. Led by Dr. Alex Horner-Devine, the team will undergo a four month measurement campaign to : 

1. Measure water levels along the lower Willapa River 

2. Measure the depths of the lower river, called a bathymetric survey, to understand the needed development for a high resolution flood model of the lower Willapa River. 

3. Make targeted measurements of water levels during storm events. 

Working with the help of the Pacific County Emergency Management Agency (PCEMA), Pacific Conservation District, and the Washington Sea Grant, the data collected will help evaluate effective adaptations to enhance community resilience along the lower Willapa River.

Dr. Alex Horner-Devine (PI, UW), Dr. Christie Hegermiller (Co-PI, UW), Dr. Peter Ruggiero (Sr. Pers, OSU), Scott McDougall (Community Lead, Pacific County Emergency Management Agency), Sanpisa Sritrairat (Sr. Pers, WA Sea Grant), Jackson Blalock (Community Lead, Pacific Conservation District), Dr. Ian Miller (Sr. Pers, WA Sea Grant)

A new mural project in Newport, Oregon, led by artist Emy Daniels, will engage Latinx youth to express their connection to their community and raise awareness of coastal hazards. The youth group will collaborate to create motifs, symbols, and imagery that reflect their thoughts and experiences, emphasizing their bond with the place they live. The mural will be produced using both traditional materials and digital techniques and the youth will create the art themselves. The group will choose a location significant to their community, with final approval sought from the city.

Dr. Felicia Olmeta Schult (PI, OR Sea Grant), Emma Gleeman (Co-PI, OSU Graduate student), Emy Daniels (Lead Artist, Hatfield Marine Science Center)

This project aims to create inclusive evacuation maps for the diverse residents of coastal communities. While state and local agencies have developed earthquake/ tsunami evacuation maps for the Oregon coast, there is a gap in creating multi-hazard maps that are clear and accessible to everyone. Traditional approaches have focused on technical expert designs, often overlooking how the public will use these maps in emergencies. Using iterative map design and the “wise practices” for inclusive hazard awareness, this project offers a unique opportunity to leverage existing internal draft maps – developed by community partners – to co-develop multi-hazard evacuation map prototypes for coastal community members that are simultaneously inclusive of a diversity of lived experiences and utilize cutting-edge cartographic principles for emergency maps in both print and digital formats.

Dr. Jenna Tilt (PI, OSU), Dr. Jim Thatcher (co-PI, OSU), Michael Howard (co-PI, UO), Amanda Ferguson (co-PI, UO)

Coastal Washington is expected to see half a foot of sea level rise in the next 30 years, increasing the frequency and magnitude of flood hazards and motivating efforts to understand current flood events. Yet, in situ observations of flood characteristics, such as extent and depth, are challenging to collect over regional scales. Limited high water marks and tide gage observations are often the only in situ observations available and prior satellite observations were hampered by interference from clouds. New satellite remote sensing products offer opportunities to observe synoptic scale flood characteristics with regular frequency, even during cloudy storm events. This pilot project is exploring the value and potential use of these new satellite-derived water surface extent products for flood observations and flood hazard science in the Pacific Northwest.

Dr. Christie Hegermiller (PI, UW), Dr. Karthik Venkataramani (Postdoc, UW), Ryan Chiu (graduate student, UW), Dr. Sanpisa Sritrairat (WA Sea Grant)

Led by Hub member and UW graduate student Madeleine Lucas, in collaboration with Quileute Tribal School, a team will establish a community-driven earthquake monitoring program. Team members and K-12 students will work together to design, install, and monitor a seismometer and present results. This project combines STEM education with geohazards science and tribal collaboration.

Dr. Harold Tobin (PI, UW), Madeleine Lucas (co-PI, graduate student, UW), Dr. Daniel Abramson (co-PI, UW), Dr. Carrie Garrison-Laney (co-PI, WA Sea Grant), Dr. Erin Wirth (Advisor, USGS), Dr. Audrey Dunham (Advisor, postdoc, UW), Anna Ledeczi (graduate student, UW), Julia Grossman (graduate student, UW) , Mya Baker (CHARTER Fellow)
Community partners: Richard Parra, Alice Ryan, Verónica Elgueta

Led by Hub member Dr. Jeffrey Berman, a team will be developing an infrastructure inventory in the Washington Tokland to Taholah  collaboratory. This inventory is necessary to estimate the impacts of hazards (earthquakes, tsunamis, and landslides) on critical infrastructure. Community partners include the Westport Public Works Department and the Washington State Emergency Management Division.

Dr. Jeff Berman (PI, UW), Dr. Nicole Errett (co-PI, UW), Dr. Marc Eberhard (co-PI, UW), Dr. Dan Cox (co-PI, OSU), Dr. Andre Barbosa (co-PI, OSU), Dr. Joe Wartman (co-PI, UW), Addie Lederman (graduate student, UW), Kevin Goodrich (Public works director, town of Westport), Maximilian Dixon (Advisor, WA EMD)

Led by Hub member Dr. Daniel Abramson, this project will pilot a novel K-12 STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, mathematics) engagement project. 4 different activities will be integrated into an afterschool program at Ocosta Junior and Senior High School to 1) create a ‘tsunami-eye’ view of pedestrian evacuation simulation to inform community drills; 2) develop virtual reality visuals of future flooding from tsunamis, and sea level rise; 3) envisioning positive action through art, creative writing, and Minecraft and other game-worlds; and 4) building geonarratives with participatory community asset mapping.

Dr. Daniel Abramson (PI, UW), Dr. Loyce Adams (co-PI, UW), Dr. Ann Bostrom (co-PI, UW), Dr. Dan Cox (co-PI, OUS), Dr. Bob Freitag (co-PI, UW), Dr. Lisa Gaines (co-PI, OSU), Frank Gonzalez (co-PI, UW), Carrie Garrison-Laney (WA Sea Grant), Ashli Blow (WA Sea Grant), Kevin Goodrich (Public works director, town of Westport), Rachel Lambert (YMCA site coordinator for Ocosta School District), Ziyan Liu (graduate student, UW), Ian Miller (WA Sea Grant), Andrea Mirante (Grant director Ocosta School District), Heather Sweet (Superintendent of Ocosta School District), Elyssa Tappero (Tsunami program coordinator, WA EMD), Dr. Jenna Tilt (co-PI, OSU), Dr. Haizhong Wang (co-PI, OSU), Mykayla Yankey (site coordinator Ocosta School District)  

Led by Hub member Dr. Haizhong Wang, this project will promote evacuation preparedness through physical reality and virtual reality drills along the Oregon coast. The team will work with coastal households to test the effectiveness of emergency operations plans to help refine household and community evacuation plans. Community partners include the Emergency Volunteer Corps of Nehalem Bay.

Dr. Haizhong Wang (PI, OSU) and Dr. Michael Lindell (co-PI, UW)

The Nooksack watershed transports the most sediment among all Salish Sea watersheds. Led by Hub member Dr. Alex Horner-Devine, the team will investigate the role of changing morphology and sediment management in modeluating flood risk in the lower Nooksack basin, within the northernmost Cascadia CoPes Hub  collaboratory. Community partners include Whatcom County Public Works Department along with the Nooksack FLIP (Floodplain Integrated Planning) board made of local government, state, and federal agencies, Tribes, and agricultural representatives.

Dr. Alex Horner-Devine (PI, UW), Guillaume Mauger (co-PI, UW), Wuming Ni (postdoc, UW), Shelby Ahrendt (graduate student, UW), John Thompson (Senior Salmon Recovery Planner, Whatcom County)

Led by Hub member Dr. Felicia Olmeta Schult, the team will create a model for a more inclusive approach to co-develop hazard awareness and preparedness resources for Hispanic coastal community members within the Newport to Astoria  collaboratory in Oregon. This includes facilitating the building of leadership capacity in Hispanic communities through training of “Hazard Embajadores” (hazard ambassadors) to disseminate hazard awareness and preparedness messages to their communities. Community partners include Consejo Hispano, FCH/SNAP-Ed Program with OSU extension, and HazAdapt.

Dr. Felicia Olmeta Schult (PI, OR Sea Grant), Josh Blockstein (co-PI, graduate student, OSU), Dr. Jenna Tilt (co-PI, OSU), Natasha Fox (advisor, postdoc, OSU), Dr. Ann Bostrom (co-PI, UW)