Last week, FEMA Region 10 hosted Cascadia Rising 2022: Rehearsal of Concept (ROC), a three-day discussion-based exercise at Washington’s Pierce County Readiness Center, to evaluate FEMA’s coordinated response plan to a massive Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ) earthquake and resulting tsunami. Participants included emergency management representatives from Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia, alongside tribal partners, FEMA, U.S. Department of Defense and American Red Cross.

Together we walked through the FEMA Region 10 CSZ Earthquake and Tsunami Response Plan using an oversized 35’x26’ map to display impacted areas and demonstrate resource allocation, staging and movement in response to a CSZ event. These discussions included questions around operational activities, logistics, resource management and communications for response operations.

Over 1,800 federal, tribal, state, local, private sector, non-governmental organizations and scientific community partners were involved in the CSZ planning effort. The lessons learned from this ROC exercise will be incorporated into both an updated CSZ Response Plan and into FEMA’s response operational procedures.

We know it’s only a matter of time before the big one strikes. The physical devastation of a CSZ quake and tsunami will be significant, and the humanitarian impacts will be felt far beyond the earthquake zone. Cascadia Rising brought our regional and federal partners together to question and challenge the plan so that when one of the biggest disasters to strike our nation takes place, we are ready to act.

This exercise reinforced the significance of building a culture of preparedness across the region. Our communities need to know they’re likely not going to have water, sewer, communication or energy in a CSZ event. They need to understand the importance of being 2 Weeks Ready and take steps now to prepare themselves to be disaster survivors and not disaster victims. This will continue to be a key messaging theme of our agency; please let us know how we can best help you inform your communities.

Take care of yourselves and take care of each other.
Andrew Phelps, Director, Oregon Office of Emergency Management

The Oregon Office of Emergency Management is supporting planning for the World Athletics Championships (Oregon22), taking place July 15-24 in Eugene, and is the lead for coordinating emergency support with state agency and ESF partners. OEM is overseeing event and incident management coordination, pre-event planning activities, and planned activities to provide support during the event.

The University of Oregon (UO) will serve as the venue for the world's largest track and field championship meet, hosting athletes from over 200 countries. This marks the first time the championships have been hosted by the U.S., and the event will attract worldwide media coverage with a virtual audience of 1 billion viewers. Daily attendance at the event is estimated at 24,000. Learn more at World Athletics Championships website.

Seventy percent of wildfires in Oregon are human-caused fires, with debris burning being the number one cause.  This Wildfire Awareness Month, the Oregon Department of Forestry and Keep Oregon Green are urging people to consider alternatives to debris burning. Waiting to burn or taking extra steps to control a fire can significantly reduce the risk of starting a large wildfire. Visit Keep Oregon Green to learn debris burning safety practices and visit ODF’s website for a downloadable flyer.

The ADA National Network and the Pacific ADA Center are hosting a webinar titled, The Realities of Emergency Management: Understanding Our Realities and How They Impact Inclusive Emergency Management. The webinar will discuss not only the realities emergency managers face but how to incorporate these realities in approaches to increase accessibility and ADA compliance in emergency management. The webinar will take place at 11:30 a.m. on May 12 via Zoom. Register on the ADA Presentations website.

As part of Wildfire Awareness Month, Oregon Office of State Fire Marshal is offering several webinars geared toward preparing Oregonians for wildfire. At 6 p.m. on May 12, the agency will discuss what causes homes to ignite during a wildfire and what people can do to better protect their dwelling. Dan Gorham with the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS) Research Center will serve as the presenter. Register for the webinar through Eventbrite.

Emergency management officials in Corvallis and Benton County will host an evacuation exercise for 10 neighborhoods in the area on May 14. Participating neighborhoods and households have already been identified and received training from emergency planners to safely take part in the event. The exercise will include three clearly marked test messages sent via the Linn-Benton Alert mass notification system on the morning of May 14, using language corresponding to the three evacuation levels. Officials will conduct a mock evacuation for the selected neighborhoods using identified egress routes so public safety agencies can evaluate the routes’ effectiveness and efficiency. The event will also be the first large-scale local deployment of the new Corvallis CERT team.

Preparing employees for a potential active shooter incident is an integral component of an organization's incident response planning. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Region 10 is holding a security webinar from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on May 17 to enhance awareness of and response to an active shooter event. This webinar focuses on providing awareness training that supports the development of emergency action planning capabilities. Registration will close as soon as the event reaches capacity of 300 or no later than noon on May 16; register for the webinar through Eventbrite.

FEMA’s National Earthquake Technical Assistance Program (NETAP) is offering a free web-based training describing the sources and types of nonstructural earthquake damage and the effective methods and guidance that individuals and organizations can use to minimize future injuries and property losses from nonstructural risks. Nonstructural components of buildings include all elements that are not part of the structural system: The architectural, mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems, as well as furniture, fixtures, equipment, and other contents. The course will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on May 18. Register via Zoom.

The FEMA National Integration Center, in partnership with the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System Office, is providing a Collaborative Technical Assistance Workshop to help jurisdictions improve the speed, reach and effectiveness of alerts and warnings. This workshop is appropriate for all public sector alert and warning authorities, including emergency managers, public information officers, social media coordinators and public outreach coordinators. The workshop will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 7-8, with a pre-workshop webinar from noon-1:30 p.m. on May 24. Register for the workshop through Eventbrite.

Oregon Water/Wastewater Agency Response Network (ORWARN) is holding a webinar on Continuity of Operations Planning from 9 a.m.-noon on May 25. Oregon Health Authority will discuss new regulations and guidance for water utilities; Oregon Emergency Management will share details on recent changes to structure and operations; City of Portland Water Bureau will present on the effects of power outages to water and wastewater systems and key preparedness steps; and the Regional Water Providers Consortium will talk about the importance of regional collaboration in mitigating risk and building resilience and share lessons learned from COVID-19 through the heat dome. There is a $60 registration fee associated with this event. Register for the webinar through Constant Contact.  

Everbridge has awarded Oregon the Best in Enterprise Resilience Gold designation based on the state’s exceptional performance in meeting the demanding standards to become Critical Event Management (CEM) certified. The Best in Enterprise Resilience assessment evaluated the state across four areas: Data and Analytics, Digital Transformation, Smart Process Automation, and Communication and Collaboration. Oregon relies on Everbridge’s CEM platform to power its OR-Alert emergency notification system. The certification validates much of the work that Oregon’s counties, tribal governments and state agencies have been doing to be better prepared for the next emergency or disaster. Read the full news release on the State of Oregon Newsroom.

Providence Medford Medical Center is the first acute care facility in the Pacific Northwest to go live with the ShakeAlert Earthquake Early Warning System, operated by the U.S. Geological Survey, which detects earthquakes just after they begin so alerts can be delivered to people before shaking arrives. In the event of a major earthquake, the hospital operator will receive a ShakeAlert-powered notification with a visual and audible signal. The operator will verify the alert and then complete an announcement through the overhead public address system: “Earthquake alert – drop, cover, hold on.” Those valuable seconds will give the hospital more time to take protective action to help reduce the risk of injury for patients, visitors and caregivers. This application will serve as a model for health care facilities in Oregon and throughout the Pacific Northwest. The ShakeAlert program in Medford will be implemented in other Providence facilities in Oregon later this year. View this video on Twitter to learn how the project came together. 

The Department of Homeland Security released the Fiscal Year 2022 Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention (TVTP) Grant Program Notice of Funding Opportunity. This annual competitive funding opportunity is available to assist local communities develop sustainable capabilities to prevent targeted violence and terrorism in the U.S. The application will close on May 18. Visit the TVTP Grants Resource Page for more information and guides on how to complete each step, then apply at then apply at Grants.gov.

The American Red Cross annually hosts Sound the Alarm to educate the public on home fire safety and to install smoke alarms free of charge.  This year it will be rallying to install over 50,000 smoke alarms throughout the month of May. With the help of volunteers and local partners, the American Red Cross hopes to continue its work in creating safer and more resilient communities. To learn what the Sound the Alarm Campaign is, how it works and how it impacts communities, watch FEMA’s most recent 15-minute webinar: Third Thursday Tips - Sound the Alarm.

FEMA Region 10's Individual and Community Preparedness Team is hosting a webinar from noon-12:15 p.m. on May 19 reviewing both personal and professional cyber readiness basics. Register via Zoom.