Community clusters of tsunami vulnerability in the US Pacific Northwest

Proceedings of the National Academy of the Sciences (PNAS) April 13 2015: 1420309112v1-201420309, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1420309112

This article presents an analytical framework for understanding community-level vulnerability to tsunamis that integrates population exposure, demographic sensitivity, and evacuation potential.

In the article, three types of communities are defined along the US Pacific Northwest coast that are directly threatened by tsunamis associated with a Cascadia subduction zone earthquake. These are: (i) demographically diverse with low numbers of exposed people, (ii) high numbers of exposed  populations but sufficient time to evacuate, and (iii) moderate numbers of exposed populations but insufficient time to evacuate. This approach is a significant advance over current practice because traditional measures of social vulnerability do not relate population structure to specific hazard characteristics. The results given in this article will help managers to develop risk reduction strategies that are tailored to local conditions and needs.