OCEAN SHORES, Wash. (AP) — Some strange flotsam has been reported on the Washington coast near Ocean Shores, and officials are trying to determine if it may be debris from the Japanese tsunami.
Grays Harbor sheriff’s Deputy Dave Pimentel said Tuesday it could be insulation the tsunami washed into the ocean. But Sheriff Mike Whelan told KBKW it could be something off a ship.
It was reported Sunday on the beach. Pimentel says county emergency management workers have been collecting it for the state Ecology Department to test.
A Seattle oceanographer who has been tracking tsunami debris, Curtis Ebbesmeyer, says he’s heard reports in recent days of floating blue or green plastic foam on coastal beaches. He says it’s hard to tell if it’s from the tsunami unless it’s found with some more-identifiable debris.
