Earthquake Exercise 2015

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Washington County Agencies Practice Earthquake Damage Assessment

Christchurch, New Zealand, February 2011

Agencies in Washington County will respond to a moderate earthquake scenario as part of a disaster response and recovery exercise this Thursday, May 14. The drill is designed to test and evaluate organizational and interagency damage assessment plans and procedures and help emergency response personnel become more familiar with their damage assessment roles and responsibilities.

Emergency management officials plan to use a break along a local fault as the story line for the exercise. Although not as active as faults in California and elsewhere, these local faults are capable of producing significant ground shaking depending on the earthquake's depth, energy level and the terrain involved. An interactive map of earthquake hazards and fault lines is available at the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries.

In addition to Washington County Emergency Management and the Washington County Department of Land Use and Transportation, participants in the exercise will include the cities of Banks, Beaverton, Hillsboro, Sherwood, Tigard and Wilsonville as well as Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue, Washington County Fire District 2 and the Washington County Amateur Radio Emergency Service.

"The procedures we'll be exercising are designed to provide for a rapid assessment of the county's critical facilities immediately following an earthquake," said Scott Porter, director of the Emergency Management Cooperative of Washington County. "When a real earthquake strikes – be it from a breach of a local fault or from a major event along the Cascadia Subduction Zone – this practice will help us gain situational awareness and inform decision makers about how to prioritize resources."

As government agencies work to improve coordination and decision making, experts in disaster response emphasize that families and individuals should also take steps toward better preparedness. Because an earthquake would occur without warning and could cause power blackouts and other disruptions for weeks on end, each household is encouraged to gather enough emergency supplies to feed and hydrate each family member for two or three weeks, if not longer. Families should discuss ways to re-connect with one another after the earthquake hits, pre-designate locations to meet if their homes are no longer safe and make other arrangements.

More information about preparing for earthquakes and other natural disasters can be found at these web sites:

• http://www.take5tosurvive.com/
• http://www.ocem.org
• http://www.oregon.gov/omd/oem/pages/
• http://www.fema.gov  

The Emergency Management Cooperative (EMC) of Washington County is committed to the development and maintenance of a countywide, integrated system to prepare for, respond to, recover from and mitigate against disasters. The EMC comprises Beaverton, Tigard, Forest Grove, Cornelius, Clean Water Services, Washington County and Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue.

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