While I applaud Ocean Shores for wanting to protect its citizens with tsunami evacuation towers, their proposal does little to save Ocean Shores as a town. I have proposed a modified approach that would better serve Ocean Shores and all of Grays Harbor.

What we need is a holistic approach that serves everyone. Even with the proposed Ocean Shores towers, tsunami waves will wash over the peninsula, scouring the dunes and destroying peninsula infrastructure and sending much of the debris into Grays Harbor. This debris, surfing the water that flowed over the peninsula, will then hit Hoquiam, Aberdeen, Cosmopolis and the Port.

Anyone who has watched the Japanese tsunami videos knows the damage this high velocity debris-filled water causes; more lives will be lost. The harbor would be more polluted and require dredging. The economy would be a shambles and the ecology would be devastated.

And FEMA has told us we’re on our own for the first 30 days. This doesn’t have to happen.

What I proposed to local and state officials is that Grays Harbor create a barrier along the high dune line of both the Westport and Ocean Shores peninsulas, measuring about 40 feet in elevation to reduce the overall flood water to what flows in through the 2-mile-wide channel.

Ocean water wouldn’t hit the barrier until a tsunami hit. Where vehicle access (most currently are at 17 feet in elevation) is required through the dunes, we build concrete tsunami evacuation towers with drive-through gates (think drawbridge) that can close prior to the first wave. Such a dune barrier could be made with geosynthetic tubes filled with dredge material, which, when the water runs out through the fabric, allows the material to solidify, each solid tube ultimately measuring 19 feet wide by 7 feet high by more than 100 feet long. Since much of the high dunes currently are about 22 to 26 feet in elevation, the bags would be filled in place, lying side by side: three on bottom, two in the middle, and one on top.

With a base of 60 feet and height of 21 feet, the geosynthetic tubes are covered with sand then covered with another sand-colored geosynthetic mesh to hold the sand and prevent vandalism, then covered with sand again and planted with natural dune vegetation.

The result would be a continuous 40 foot high barrier that would likely prevent most water from any tsunami from hitting Ocean Shores and Westport.

The life expectancy of the barrier material is over 100 years, provided it isn’t exposed to sunlight. We know the peninsulas will drop about six feet after a megaquake, but I used the 40-foot dune height because that is the 40 foot pre-tsunami elevation University of Washington scientists claimed in their flow study would be high ground. But, even if a level 1 event occurs, tsunami water temporarily overtopping the barrier shouldn’t cause failure. The barrier also would raise the channel barrier so as to prevent flood waters from sweeping sideways onto the peninsulas before entering the harbor.

On top, the barrier could be a paved path for bikes and walking, and stairs could be installed along the side to allow walking access over the barrier. Yes, I’m aware some ocean views will be blocked. There is a price for safety that might be partly mitigated by a higher survival rate, lower flood insurance rates, lower property taxes and perhaps by a lenient building code allowing construction of higher observation decks. And yes, the town should survive.

A secondary project would be to raise the southern rock jetty to about 40 feet to prevent overtopping. This would be expensive but would reduce flooding through the channel by about 25 percent.

The object of this proposal is to prevent overtopping of the peninsulas, thus preserving lives, infrastructure, and the economy of the beach communities, whilst also reducing the damage to the inland communities and the Port of Grays Harbor infrastructure.

Using dredge material from Grays Harbor has a secondary benefit of deepening our harbor, widening the channel and reducing the silting and debris from a tsunami. By only allowing flood water through the channel entrance, most of the destructive flotsam and higher velocity water is eliminated. There would be flooding but it would much lower and slower. All of this also serves to help protect our ecosystem.

Roughly estimated at $400 million, my proposal would be local labor intensive and take years to complete. If built with the usual FEMA grant system of 75 percent FEMA, 12.5 percent state and 12.5 percent local, Grays Harbor’s contribution would be returned as wages, perhaps much more than our contribution share.

Benefiting also would be all local utilities, railroad, and the Port with infrastructure that would be saved. I have suggested to the powers that be that five of the Ocean Shores towers be built at the dunes “vehicle passes” with Grays Harbor sharing the cost, and that those buildings be part of the greater barrier system. This would lower the overall cost to Ocean Shores, while providing better protection to tourists who might be on the beach during an event and provide infrastructure services to those tourists during their visit.

It also would be quite a tourist draw. Remember that if Ocean Shores builds its proposed project and does nothing to prevent tsunami waves from hitting, a megaquake will reduce the peninsula’s overall height by about six feet, a tsunami will scour the peninsula and lower the dunes, and, even if Ocean Shores is rebuilt, another tsunami could strike the lowered peninsula, causing equal or more damage.

While the cost is high, not doing so is many times more expensive in lives, in property, and to our economy! Trying to move this proposal forward, I’ve asked the UW to conduct new flow studies to demonstrate the expected effect of a barrier. And I’ve asked the UW and Washington Military Department to conduct a failure analysis of this proposed geotextile barrier system. So far, the fingers have pointed elsewhere for action, and others have just stayed quiet.

Fatalism about natural disasters hinders action to prepare for those disasters. Let’s shake this off and take action. If you agree, tell your representatives that it’s time to save Grays Harbor. It can be done.

Randy Dutton, of Montesano, is a retired Navy commander, trained in contingency operations and government contracting. He is a former supervisor for the Port of Long Beach.