WESTPORT, Wash. — Students at Ocosta Elementary School in Westport do evacuation drills where they run to the top story of the school building.
But scientists say an inevitable tsunami could be higher than the school.
That’s why construction workers there are racing to finish a building that's the first of its kind in North America. A tsunami shelter will be built on roof of a new school, 44 feet high.
FEMA estimates that after a magnitude 9 earthquake, a tsunami could hit some areas within 15 minutes.
“Scientists tell us it will happen at some point. It's very unpredictable as to when. So, we need to be prepared,” said Ocosta School District superintendent Paula Akerlund.
FEMA regional administrator Kenneth Murphy told CBS News he would never say they're ready for "the big one."
Murphy said if an 8.0 magnitude earthquake hit the area, at least 10,000 people would be killed from the subsequent tsunami, and the number of fatalities would go up tremendously with a 9.0 magitude earthquake.
“We’re talking numbers that this nation, I’m not sure, is really prepared to deal with,” said Murphy.
Scientists say major earthquakes happen in the Pacific Northwest about every 240 years. The last major earthquake was 315 years ago.