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On this coast the earthquake is the warning. The natural signs, what to do during and after the shaking, where the high ground is, and who to follow — for a Cascadia tsunami that gives only minutes. Not a live alert.
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A strong or long quake means a tsunami may be minutes away — there is no time to wait for a siren, an app, or this page. This explains what the natural warning is, what to do, and where the high ground is. It is not a live alert.
If the ground shakes hard, or for a long time — go to high ground on foot, now.
A strong or long earthquake on the Cascadia coast is itself the tsunami warning. Drop, cover and hold on until the shaking stops, then walk inland and uphill, out of the low ground by the river. Do not wait for a siren, a phone alert, or anyone to tell you to go. Do not drive if you can walk — quakes bring down power lines and block roads with debris.
Two questions. There is no other check to make — if both are yes, go now.
Drop to your hands and knees before the shaking knocks you down.
Cover your head and neck; get under a sturdy table if one is near, and hold on to it.
Stay put until the shaking fully stops — most injuries come from moving or falling objects during the quake.
The moment the shaking stops, go — on foot, inland and uphill, away from the Columbia and the low waterfront.
Walk, don't drive, if you can. Roads may be cracked, blocked by debris or jammed; people on foot move when cars cannot.
Take only what you can grab in seconds. Do not go back for belongings, and do not go to the water to watch.
Help children, older neighbours and anyone who needs it — but keep moving uphill.
Keep going until you are above the mapped tsunami zone, then keep climbing a little more. The first wave is often not the largest, and waves keep coming for hours.
The safe line — above the mapped tsunami zone — Get above the mapped tsunami line and keep climbing
Head away from the Columbia and uphill — south, up the hill streets — and keep going until you are out of the mapped zone, then a little higher still. From the riverfront that means climbing the numbered hill streets toward the ridge above downtown. The official Beat the Wave map shows the route and the assembly areas for your neighbourhood.
The hill streets above the waterfront
Anywhere well above the mapped zone, up the hill behind downtown, is high ground. The official Beat the Wave map marks the assembly areas for each neighbourhood — head to the nearest one and wait there.
The riverfront and working waterfront
The low land right along the Columbia — the Riverwalk, the piers, the cannery and port areas, and the streets closest to the water — is the part of town the maps put inside the tsunami zone. From here, head directly away from the river and uphill.
Low areas around the bridges and the bays
The flats near the Astoria–Megler Bridge approach and the low ground around Youngs Bay and the outlying communities across the water sit low. Outlying low areas like Jeffers Garden have longer distances to high ground and need a faster pace — DOGAMI models a fast walk there.
Check your own block on the official map
Whether your exact street is in the zone is a question for DOGAMI's 'Beat the Wave' map, linked below — it is the authority, not this list.
The Cascadia Subduction Zone offshore last ruptured along its full length in January 1700, sending a tsunami across the Pacific to Japan; the next great Cascadia quake is a matter of when, not if, and it will give this coast only minutes. The hazard is real in calmer ways too: in July 2025 a distant earthquake sent higher-than-normal waves to the mouth of the Columbia overnight, with little danger to Astoria — a reminder that both a far-off quake (hours of warning) and a local Cascadia quake (no warning but the shaking) can reach us.
Stay on high ground until officials say it is over
Clatsop County Emergency Management
Local emergency management — the authority for evacuation and the all-clear
ClatsopALERTS!
Free local emergency alerts to your phone, text and email — sign up before you need it
U.S. Tsunami Warning System (tsunami.gov)
NOAA / National Tsunami Warning Center — official warnings, watches and advisories for Oregon
What this page is, and what it is not
Town Tools builds free, public tools for Astoria and towns around the world. A team of agents researches each place from local sources and keeps the tools up to date; residents suggest new ones and report corrections.
Oregon Department of Emergency Management
State tsunami and Cascadia preparedness guidance
DOGAMI Tsunami Clearinghouse
The official 'Beat the Wave' evacuation maps for Astoria and the Oregon coast
NANOOS Tsunami Evacuation viewer
Interactive map of the evacuation zones and routes
City of Astoria — Be Prepared
City emergency-preparedness page and alert sign-up
DOGAMI 'Beat the Wave' evacuation map — Astoria (Central) — The authority on which blocks are in the zone, the walk/jog/run speed needed, and the assembly areas. West and East Astoria sheets are on the DOGAMI clearinghouse.
If it shakes hard or long on the coast
Evacuate on foot to high ground, above the mapped tsunami zone