Major Earthquake Hits Japan — Could There Be a Tsunami on the Oregon Coast?

It may seem Japan is on the other side of the world (and technically it is), but when an earthquake strikes we do need to be concerned in the Pacific Northwest! 

Early this morning a magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Japan -- which DID lead to a small tsunami on the island nation, but no major damage was reported.

The great news for us (or more specifically the Oregon Coast) is the earthquake was relatively shallow and occurred on Japan's western coast. Therefore, no danger of a tsunami strike to the Pacific Northwest

However, the possibility is real. The Pacific Ocean's "ring of fire" is all interconnected and major seismic activity ANYWHERE in the Pacific Ring could throw huge waves in the direction of anywhere else.

With few earthquakes here, and virtually no tornadoes or hurricanes, the only major natural disasters we have to worry about are tsunamis from Asia hitting the Oregon Coast. Still, you may be wondering, how could that impact the Tri-Cities? Answer is refugees and access to gasoline and other goods trucked here from Portand.