City of Portland prepares for earthquake response after ‘The Big One’

The City of Portland is testing its emergency response to a major earthquake.

The statewide exercise is called Iron-OR 24, and cities across Oregon are participating in a two-day earthquake simulation exercise.

“We’re in that timeframe where we could experience another one at any time, so we’re getting ready,” said Amanda Westervelt, Operations Coordinator at the Portland Bureau of Emergency Management.

Portland is in the Cascadia Subduction Zone which hasn’t produced an earthquake since 1700, but scientists say there’s a 37% chance a major earthquake could rock the region within the next 50 years.

That’s why state and local officials are asking residents to "be two weeks ready" in the event that basic services like food, water and emergency medical systems are impacted.

From Tuesday to Wednesday, a dozen city agencies are pretending like a 9.0-magnitude earthquake happened four days ago, and they’re assessing local impacts and community needs at the Portland Bureau of Emergency Management.

“We’ve been given a playbook. This is what’s happening. These are the people who are affected. But every hour we’re getting a changing script,” said Brandon Zero, PIO for the Portland Water Bureau.

Zero said compared to other cities, Portland has two reliable sources of clean water.

“The Bull Run Reservoir and groundwater water supply from the Columbia South Shore Well Field so we can tap either one of those resources in the event of an emergency,” he said.

“The city has 150 bridges. Almost all of these we know would fail in the event of a 9.0 earthquake,” said Dylan Rivera, PIO at the Portland Bureau of Transportation.

The hope is that by identifying the city’s strengths and weaknesses, everyone will be more prepared for a random catastrophic event.

“We are trying to get better at response generally so every time we gather ourselves in this way, we get to know each other better, we learn more and we get more prepared for any response, any emergency the city may face,” said Westervelt.

https://katu.com/news/local/city-of-portland-prepares-for-earthquake-response-pbot-water-bull-run-bridges-multnomah-county-oregon-cascadia-subduction-zone

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Author: KATU News
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News post in at: October 31, 2024, 3:02 am.

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