Wrong Type of Earthquake for a Tsunami
The 7.9 earthquake in Alaska yesterday caused a flood of media attention for Florence as social media lit up with concerns of why there was no notification of a possible tsunami. Even television media swept through the area for a story. The reason that Florence did not receive a message of a Tsunami watch it that according to the USGS the quake was the wrong kind of quake. Leslie Gordon with the US Geological Survey.
“They realized it was what we call a strike slip earthquake, in other words two big pieces of land just move past each other instead of what we call a subduction quake where a large slab or tectonic plate dives down underneath another one.
After initially calling for a tsunami warning along the Alaska coast, a watch was issued for areas along the Washington, Oregon and California coast but was quickly rescinded.
“After more closely looking at it they realized that the ground motion was not a subduction quake it was a more motion like what we see on the San Andreas fault in California.”
The cancellation of the watch came hours before any danger would have reached our area had there been an actual threat of a tsunami. More information on yesterday’s event and a better understanding of the watch and warning system you can go to tsunami.gov
Logging Death
A Springfield man was killed in a logging accident yesterday in Mapleton. The body of 35 year old Arturo Toral-Pacheco was retrieved down a steep embankment by several responding agencies including Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue, Eugene Mountain Rescue and Lane County Ground Search and Rescue.
Buoy Washes Up in Yachats
In what was an unrelated event to yesterday’s quake a tsunami buoy that had broken from its mooring in the ocean near Astoria washed ashore in Yachats. According to the Oregonian/oregonlive the buoy was one that had been adrift since October and had been traveling down the coast since that time. A man and his father noticed the large yellow and red buoy but could not approach it due to the surf but returned later to take a closer look. The USGS confirmed that it broke away on October 4th of 2017 about 200 miles off the coast of Astoria
Voters Approve Measure 101
Oregon voters said yes to Measure 101. Last night’s election results showed that about 67 percent of Oregonians approved of the new taxes to help fund medical services for a large portion of residents that do not necessarily have the funds for certain care options. In Lane county 104,711 ballots were returned with 70,280 voting in favor of the measure.
Pump Prices Still Rising
Pump prices have been ticking up since the start of the year signaling that gas prices may be more expensive in 2018 than last year. For the week, the national average for regular unleaded bumps up a penny to $2.54 a gallon while the Oregon average tacks on half a cent to $2.83. Here in Florence the average price has risen 2 cents per gallon to $2.61. Which is currently among the lowest in the state.
