Vertical and horizontal evacuation

Vertical and horizontal evacuation are strategies for providing safety to humans in case of tsunami, hurricane or other natural disaster.

[2][3] The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency published design guidelines for vertical evacuation structures in 2008.

[4] According to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, serious discussions about vertical evacuation began in the United States following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.

[5] The American Society of Civil Engineers adopted an updated edition of its building standards in September 2016, including tsunami hazards for the first time.

[6] The first vertical evacuation site in the United States was Ocosta Elementary School, constructed in 2015–2016 on the Pacific Ocean coast in Westport, Washington, where a Cascadia subduction zone magnitude 9+ earthquake is expected to cause great tsunamis.