Guide
Tsunami: what to do, and where to go from each town
Checked September 12, 2026 against the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI) and the National Tsunami Warning Center.
If the ground shakes hard, or for a long time, the shaking is the warning. Drop, cover and hold on until it stops. Then go straight to high ground or inland, on foot if you can. Do not wait for a siren, a phone alert or this page. A tsunami from an earthquake off this coast can arrive in 15 to 20 minutes.
Two kinds of tsunami
- Local. From an earthquake on the Cascadia fault just offshore. The earthquake itself is the only warning you may get, and the first wave can come ashore in 15 to 20 minutes.
- Distant. From an earthquake far across the Pacific, such as Alaska, Japan or Chile. It takes 4 hours or more to reach Oregon, so there is time for official warnings: a 3-minute siren in some towns, NOAA Weather Radio, and emergency alerts on your phone.
Either way, do not go back to the beach until local emergency officials give the all-clear. Large waves can keep coming ashore for hours, and the first is often not the biggest.
Warning, advisory, watch
| Level | What the warning center says to do |
|---|---|
| Warning | Go to high ground or inland now. |
| Advisory | Stay out of the water and away from beaches and waterways. |
| Watch | Stay tuned and be ready to act. |
“The weather service has not named this coast”
The warning center in Alaska covers Alaska and the whole West Coast, so its latest message can be a warning for the Aleutians that says nothing about Oregon. The board only treats a warning as ours when the National Weather Service lists your stretch of coast in it (the Clatsop and Tillamook County coast for the boards from Astoria to Neskowin; the Lincoln and Lane County coast for Lincoln City to Florence; the Douglas, Coos and Curry coast for Reedsport to Brookings), or when the earthquake is close enough to be ours. Otherwise the tsunami tile names the warning and says it has not been issued for this coast. If you hear “tsunami warning” on the radio, that is why the top of the page may be calm. Follow what officials say for where you are.
Evacuation maps by town
DOGAMI’s maps show the evacuation zones and routes. Look yours up before you need it, and walk the route once. Where a town has two maps, it is because DOGAMI split it in half; open the one with your end of town.
Astoria to Neskowin
- Astoria: Astoria map
- Warrenton: Warrenton and Clatsop Spit map (Hammond and Fort Stevens are on it)
- Gearhart and Seaside: Seaside and Gearhart map. Clatsop County says a solid three-minute siren blast is the signal to evacuate.
- Cannon Beach: Cannon Beach map; south of town, the Arch Cape map
- Manzanita and Nehalem: Nehalem River Valley map (Manzanita, Nehalem and Wheeler)
- Rockaway Beach: Rockaway Beach map
- Garibaldi: Garibaldi and Barview map
- Tillamook: Tillamook map; on the bay, the Bay City map; out on the capes, the Oceanside and Netarts maps
- Pacific City: Pacific City map
- Neskowin: Neskowin map
Lincoln City to Florence
- Lincoln City: Lincoln City north map (Roads End, D River) and Lincoln City south map (Nelscott, Taft, Siletz Bay)
- Depoe Bay: Depoe Bay map
- Newport: Newport north map (Agate Beach, Nye Beach) and Newport south map
- South Beach: on the Newport south map
- Toledo: Toledo map. Toledo is up the Yaquina, and the map shows how far a tsunami reaches up the river.
- Waldport: Waldport map; north of the bay, the Seal Rock map
- Yachats: Yachats map, and for the north end, the Yachats north and San Marine map
- Florence: Florence map (Heceta Beach to the South Jetty)
Reedsport to Brookings
- Reedsport and Winchester Bay: Reedsport, Gardiner and Winchester Bay map
- Coos Bay, North Bend and Charleston: Coos Bay map. If your street is not on it, use the address map below.
- Coquille: no printed map; use the address map below.
- Bandon: Bandon map
- Port Orford: Port Orford map
- Gold Beach: Gold Beach and Hunter Creek map
- Brookings: Brookings and Harbor map
Any address: NANOOS tsunami evacuation zones map.
Sources
- DOGAMI Oregon Tsunami Clearinghouse and its evacuation brochures (every map above is linked from that page)
- National Tsunami Warning Center, tsunami.gov (the feed the board reads, with the National Weather Service)
- NANOOS tsunami evacuation zones
- Clatsop County Emergency Management, tsunami (the three-minute siren)