Characterizations of tsunami hazards along the Cascadia subduction zone hinge on uncertainties in megathrust rupture models used for simulating tsunami inundation. To explore these uncertainties, we constructed 15 megathrust earthquake scenarios using rupture models that supply the initial conditions for tsunami simulations at Bandon, Oregon. Tsunami inundation varies with the amount and distribution of fault slip assigned to rupture models, including models where slip is partitioned to a splay fault in the accretionary wedge and models that vary the updip limit of slip on a buried fault. Constraints on fault slip come from onshore and offshore paleoseismological evidence. We rank each rupture model using a logic tree that evaluates a model's consistency with geological and geophysical data. The scenarios provide inputs to a hydrodynamic model, SELFE, used to simulate tsunami generation, propagation, and inundation on unstructured grids with <5-15 m resolution in coastal areas. Tsunami simulations delineate the likelihood that Cascadia tsunamis will exceed mapped inundation lines. Maximum wave elevations at the shoreline varied from ~4 m to 25 m for earthquakes with 9-44 m slip and M w 8.7-9.2. Simulated tsunami inundation agrees with sparse deposits left by the A.D. 1700 and older tsunamis. Tsunami simulations for large (22-30 m slip) and medium (14-19 m slip) splay fault scenarios encompass 80%-95% of all inundation scenarios and provide reasonable guidelines for landuse planning and coastal development. The maximum tsunami inundation simulated for the greatest splay fault scenario (36-44 m slip) can help to guide development of local tsunami evacuation zones.

We demonstrate the ability of coupled remote sensing tools to characterize large, slow‐moving landslides in the Eel River catchment, northern California. From a stack of ALOS interferograms, we identified 5 large (>1 km long) landslides that exhibited significant activity from February 2007 to February 2008. For the Boulder Creek earthflow, we used orthorectified air photos taken in 1964 and unfiltered airborne LiDAR flown in 2006 to map the displacement of trees growing on the landslide surface. Combining those displacement orientations with stacked DInSAR data, we observed average downslope velocities of 0.65 m yr−1 through the central transport zone of the landslide. Given landslide depth estimates, minimum sediment transport and denudation rates are estimated to be 4100 m3 yr−1 and 1.6 mm yr−1, respectively. Our results demonstrate the highly erosive role of large, slow‐moving landslides in landscape evolution and suggest that the superposition of dense, ephemeral gully networks and rapidly moving zones within the landslide may facilitate delivery of slide‐mobilized sediment into adjacent fluvial channels.

Previous pedestrian evacuation modeling for tsunamis has not considered variable wave arrival times or critical junctures (e.g., bridges), and did not effectively communicate multiple evacuee travel speeds. We summarize an approach that identifies evacuation corridors, recognizes variable wave arrival times, and produces a map of minimum pedestrian travel speeds to reach safety, termed a ''beat-the-wave'' (BTW) evacuation analysis. We demonstrate the improved approach by evaluating difficulty of pedestrian evacuation of Seaside, Oregon, for a local tsunami generated by a Cascadia subduction zone earthquake. We establish evacuation paths by calculating the least-cost distance (LCD) to safety for every grid cell in a tsunami hazard zone using geospatial, anisotropic path distance algorithms. Minimum BTW speed to safety on LCD paths is calculated for every grid cell by dividing surface distance from that cell to safety by the tsunami arrival time at safety. We evaluated three scenarios of evacuation difficulty: (1) all bridges are intact with a 5-min evacuation delay from the start of earthquake, (2) only retrofitted bridges are considered intact with a 5-min delay, and (3) only retrofitted bridges are considered intact with a 10-min delay. BTW maps also take into account critical evacuation points along complex shorelines (e.g., peninsulas, bridges over shore-parallel estuaries) where evacuees could be caught by tsunami waves. The BTW map is able to communicate multiple pedestrian travel speeds, which are typically visualized by multiple maps with current LCD-based mapping practices. Results demonstrate that evacuation of Seaside is problematic seaward of the shore-parallel waterways for those with any limitations on mobility. Tsunami vertical evacuation refuges or additional pedestrian bridges may be effective ways of reducing loss of life seaward of these waterways.

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