December 19, 2025
By Madeleine Lucas, WSG Coastal Resilience Fellow
Maddy Lucas took a break from distributing tsunami information to practice her “Drop, Cover, and Hold” at the Auntie Lee Vertical Evacuation Tower.
On October 16 at 10:16 a.m., Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe (SBIT) community members and staff participated in the Great ShakeOut Drill by practicing “Drop, Cover, and Hold” and walking their tsunami evacuation routes.
The Great ShakeOut is an international drill where people living in earthquake country around the world practice what they would do in a real earthquake and/or tsunami emergency. This year, over 58 million people participated in the ShakeOut worldwide, including 1.6 million in Washington state alone.
During the drill, tsunami sirens in Tokeland were tested with the actual wailing sound to simulate what to expect in a real earthquake/tsunami emergency. The SBIT Emergency Management, Police, and Planning Departments came together for the event, along with partners from Washington Emergency Management Division (WA EMD) and the Pacific County Emergency Management Agency (PCEMA), to answer questions about earthquakes and tsunamis and to distribute information and supplies to help our community prepare for earthquakes and tsunamis.
Here’s what some community members had to say about what they learned through their participation in the Great ShakeOut Drill:
“It’s only a drill – had it been the real event it’s unknown how things would actually be. The real thing will likely be more challenging.”
“That I can make it up the hill.”
“I learned what to do in case of an emergency, like where to go.”
“I learned about the evacuation tower. I learned that our SBIT system is operational. Thank you, Emergency Management!”
“To take it serious as you never know when a real one will hit.”
“I learned that the Shoalwater Bay Tribe continues to grow their capabilities and that the residents of Tokeland and Tribal members are well protected in the event of a Cascadia or distant source event.”
Thank you to everyone who participated in the Great ShakeOut Drill of 2025!
Remember: If you feel the ground shake, evacuate to high ground immediately! The ground shaking is your tsunami warning.
To learn more about SBIT Emergency Management, visit:
Emergency Management » Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe
For my information on how to prepare for earthquakes and tsunamis in Washington, visit:
Earthquake | Washington State Military Department
Tsunami | Washington State Military Department
For information about other geologic hazards in Washington, visit:
Geologic Hazards and the Environment | Department of Natural Resources
This article was written by Madeleine (Maddy) Lucas. Maddy is a Washington Sea Grant Coastal Resilience Fellow supervised by the Risa Thomas in the SBIT Planning Department. For her fellowship, she is working to support SBIT’s efforts to increase community resilience to natural hazards such as earthquakes, tsunamis, and landslides. Prior to joining the Planning Department, Maddy spent five years in the Earth & Space Sciences Department at the University of Washington working towards her PhD focused on Cascadia earthquakes and tsunamis. Maddy is so excited to be working with SBIT for the next two years and already feels warmly welcomed by the community! Hayu Masi!
###
Washington Sea Grant, based at the University of Washington, helps people and marine life thrive through research, technical expertise and education supporting the responsible use and conservation of coastal ecosystems. Washington Sea Grant is one of 34 Sea Grant programs supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in coastal and Great Lakes states that encourage the wise stewardship of our marine resources through research, education, outreach and technology transfer.
Join the conversation: instagram.com/waseagrant and Facebook.com/WaSeaGrant.
DEC
2025