In a Washington coastal town, residents built a towering escape structure because the roads simply won’t survive a major tsunami. The elevated refuge is designed for those with no time—or means—to flee the incoming wave.
The coastal town of Westport, Washington, sits on a narrow peninsula of sand where the ground rises only a few feet above sea level. In the event of a major earthquake off the Pacific Northwest coast, officials estimate that a tsunami could send water 30 to 40 feet high into the town within 15 to 30 minutes of the shaking starting. Because the roads leading out of town are expected to be damaged o…