The tower platforms have a capacity of more than 400 people, which is considerably more than the tribal population of the small Shoalwater Bay reservation. The tower will be open to all in a disaster. “This allows folks even if it’s 2:30 in the morning in your pajamas to scoop up your family and make it here in a very short amount of time – in under a 15-minute window for nearly everyone from Tokeland Point to the heart of the reservation,” Ufkin said. The tower stands close to the midpoint of the nearly 3-mile-long (4.8-kilometer) Tokeland Peninsula. The tribe’s emergency management director, Ken Ufkin, said he can sleep better now that the sturdy, double-decker tsunami refuge tower exists.

Tribal leaders and the Federal Emergency Management Agency said it should be an example and inspiration for other vulnerable coastal communities. Shoalwater tribal council member Lynn Clark said at the dedication ceremony that the tower will save lives. Tokeland is on a long, flat peninsula with no high ground within walking or running distance for many there.

Killing floor 2 builds