National Geographic: O.S. is “soggy toast”

From last week’s North Coast News:

Good news: Ocean Shores is mentioned in the latest National Geographic.

Not-so-good news: We’re called “soggy toast.”

The Feb. 2012 issue of National Geographic magazine has an article titled “The Calm Before the Wave.” In the article on tsunamis, Tim Folger writes:

“In Washington there are tsunami evacuation signs, tall towers on the beaches to broadcast warnings, and tsunami information booklets in hotel rooms, next to Gideon Bibles. But evacuation centers are sparse; and not everyone has access to high ground.

“Ocean Shores, a resort town that NOAA lists as ‘tsunami-ready,’ lies on a narrow peninsula with no high ground and just one two-lane road to safety; 5,500 people live there year-round, many more in the summer. One evening last summer I drove around the town with Jody Bourgeois, a geologist at the University of Washington.

“ ‘These people are toast, soggy toast,” she said glumly.

The National Geographic website also has a story on “Japan Tsunami-Debris Cruise Attracts Travelers to Ocean Garbage Patch.”

Last year’s tsunami that washed over Japan dragged out to sea a massive debris field, estimated by some to be the size of California.

According to the National Geographic story, “Few people have seen the floating tsunami debris field up close, and most have been scientists or crew members on shipping freighters. But in May 2012 Algalita Marine Research Foundation  and the  Gyres Institute — organizations that specialize in researching plastic accumulation in the  ocean — will take scientists and paying members of the public to the floating field of ruins.

“Neither cruise is exactly a budget vacation, with the first leg priced at U.S. $13,500 per person and the tsunami-debris expedition at $15,500 per person (five spots available).”

The story notes that the expeditions are going into uncharted territory: “… little is known about what the expedition might find.”

The story quotes Seattle oceanographer Curtis Ebbesmeyer, who has been interviewed for several North Coast News stories on tsunami debris coming ashore here. “No one knows what to expect in the debris field,” Ebbesmeyer told National Geographic. “Human remains in sneakers are possible. Expect the unexpected.”