Plans to build the nation's first tsunami-resistant building are unfolding in Cannon Beach, Ore., in a region that is almost identical, seismically, to the subduction zone that triggered the earthquake and tsunami in Japan last week. Elevated 4.5 meters off the ground, the building would provide an evacuation zone for coastal residents and tourists while also serving as a new city hall.
"The goals are to save lives and provide continuity of government," says Jay Raskin, an architect and former Cannon Beach mayor who is helping to spearhead the design process.
The Pacific Northwest coast is vulnerable to quakes produced by the Cascadia subduction zone, a 950-kilometer-long fault running from northern California to Vancouver, B.C. There hasn't been a Cascadia earthquake since 1700, and many researchers say there is a one-in-three chance a magnitude 9.0 temblor and tsunami will strike in the next 50 years
To read the full, original article click on this link: Taking Waves: Nation's First Tsunami-Resistant Building Could Be Built on the Oregon Coast: Scientific American
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