PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — Some may remember the Japan tsunami that hit the Oregon coast in 2011.

Dozens of boats were found crashing into each other, while other boats sank in the ocean. Then, over a year later, a three-foot-tall wharf, believed to be from Japan, washed up in Newport. Then, in 2022, a volcanic eruption more than 5,000 miles away sent waves to the Oregon coast, triggering a tsunami warning.

“I thought it would be worse than it was, but it was just the volcano erupting underwater, and it ended up being a seven-foot wave,” recalled Steven Guasp, a chef at Newport Café. “It was really a reality check of the seriousness of what could potentially happen if we lived on the coast.”

On Thursday, an earthquake of 5.0 struck. According to the US Geological Survey, it happened about 75 miles from Coos Bay.

“My mother is very concerned about the tsunamis that might come, so she was quite stressed about it,” said Zachary Cromwell, manager at Newport Café. “I didn’t think of it as anything significant because I don’t feel anything.”

Earthquakes are common along the Oregon coast because it lies along the Cascadia Subduction Zone, but it is also a reminder of how fragile the region can be.

According to FEMA, the risk of a tsunami in Newport is about 100 times greater than the risk of a tornado anywhere in the US.

“Since 2011, Newport, Oregon has worked to increase the safety of its residents and businesses from the threat of a tsunami,” according to a FEMA report. “Working with other public and private entities, the city has identified and adapted a tsunami collection area, ‘Safe Haven Hill’.”

The Oregon Office of Emergency Management said they have been working with cities and counties to help locals and officials prepare for the big one.

“We’re really trying to understand what the threat is and how we can best prepare for it and how we can take action to mitigate the impact,” William Chapman of the Oregon Office of Emergency Management told KATU.

The earthquake occurred on the same day OEM said more than 530,000 Oregonians participated in the annual Great Oregon Shakeout.

However, some say they haven’t received a notification from the My Shake Alert app.

“The Oregon Department of Emergency Management did not generate any alerts. The My Shake app did generate a test alert for their system. It is managed by UC Berkeley in California,” Chapman said.

Most hope the region will never experience the 9.0 earthquake that struck Alaska again. It caused a devastating tsunami in 1965 that killed five people near Newport.

“The Oregon Legislature invested in that system a few years ago to complete the buildout and deploy those seismic sensors throughout Oregon. So we can get that early warning, maybe 30 seconds to a few minutes of warning, and be able to get that warning out so people can drop their coverage and hang in there,” Chapman said. “That system can also be integrated with, for example, critical infrastructure facilities.”

“They might also get a few minutes’ warning and be able to do things like shut off a pipeline or open fire station garage doors and get out fire trucks, things like that, or turn off the water and things like that. mitigate that source of damage,” Chapman told KATU. “We have also invested in our own alert and warning system called Alert. We just launched our B2 Weeks Ready program preparedness campaign to get that message out recently and help Oregonians understand that they need to be prepared for that hazard.”