survival of the funded

The lowland topography on the west coast of Washington State makes it vulnerable to ocean inundation. If regional sea levels significantly rise, there will be increased flooding. If a large earthquake occurs off the coast, a devastating tsunami may strike.

Concern about the potential for these disasters has several Indian groups requesting government money to relocate their communities to higher ground. The Quinault, living in Taholah village, are one of these and have received a $25 million grant under President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act. However, much more money than that is needed according to a recent Globe and Mail interview with Guy Capoeman, President of the Quinault Indian Nation:

Officially, the Quinault estimate for the relocation is US$150-million. But they have two villages they need to relocate – Taholah and Queets to the north – and though their populations are small, with about 1,500 living on reservation, they will need to rebuild fire halls, police stations, stores and gas stations. Mr. Capoeman wouldn’t be surprised if the full price tag is closer to $350-million.

The cost to move all the involved tribes and their infrastructure would probably exceed a $ billion.
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​The threat from tsunami is real and constant, but what about rising sea levels? Taholah currently experiences flooding during some king tide/storm events but, consistent with Olympic Peninsula uplift, relative sea level is currently trending down according to data from La Push (40 miles north) and Toke Point (45 miles south) tidal stations. So, Climate Change is not really the issue:

Regarding tsunami danger, there are about 600 Taholah residents that would need to find higher ground quickly. From the lower part of town, it is about a half-mile up 5th Ave (about a 15 minute walk) to reach safe elevation. Not great, but do-able for the majority of their population.

By comparison there are other, more populated, areas at greater tsunami risk on the Washington coast. For example, Ocean Shores has roughly 7,000 people and most of them would have to walk more than an hour to evacuate if roads are clogged or damaged by the earthquake, so they won’t get out in time. Do they not deserve protection as well?
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An alternative to relocation exists and has been put into place by the Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe near Toke Point, Washington:

Tsunami evacuation towers are a Japanese innovation. They should be built in a series, reachable by a 10-15 minute walk from homes and businesses in areas subject to tsunami inundation. The cost of the one pictured was $4.2 million ($3 million federal funding) and it can accommodate 400 refuge-seekers, according to a Washington Military Department report. Apparently, about 50 towers are required for the lowland Washington coast … so, relative to the Shoalwater funding, the feds need to kick-in $150 million.

One of these towers would alleviate the potential tsunami death toll in Taholah. Coupled with dike upgrades, the lower village could probably be protected from the ocean for under $10 million rather than the $150 to $350 million relocation estimate.

The lives of the citizens in Ocean Shores matter as much as those in Taholah. Utilizing federal funding for tsunami towers-for-all instead of relocation-for-some is the most humane, democratic, solution.

Sea level rise is not an issue for the Quinault, but the credibility optics of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act needs poster-child CO2 refugees. Relocation of an entire village sounds so much more environmentally dire than just building a refuge platform and raising dikes.
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