Don't Freak Out, Shake Out - then read this newsletter!

More than 600,000 Oregonians registered for today’s Great Oregon ShakeOut earthquake drill, practicing Drop, Cover and Hold On at 10:19 a.m. The event encourages people to practice these actions so they become a muscle memory that will kick in when the ground does start to shake. Drop, Cover and Hold On is the national standard for earthquake safety and evidence suggests it offers the best overall level of earthquake protection in most situations. If your agency didn’t register to take part, put a note on your 2024 calendar now to do so. The event always falls on the third Thursday in October and the more people who register, the more we can collectively improve preparedness across the state. These adorable middle schoolers from Robert Gray M.S. in Portland this morning knew exactly what to do!

The company that created the QuakeAlertUSA app is in the process of decommissioning this app and it will no longer be available in Oregon. The MyShake app is still available and there may be other ShakeAlert-powered apps created in the future. Oregonians can also receive earthquake early warning alerts on their phones through the Wireless Emergency Alert system and through the Android operating system.

At any time (maybe tomorrow, maybe decades from now), the Pacific Northwest will be hit with another massive earthquake originating in the Cascadia Subduction Zone. A group of Lewis & Clark College professors and research assistants have developed Cascadia 9.0, a game where you play as several different characters to learn how to survive and thrive in this earth-shaking catastrophe. Cascadia 9.0 was developed as part of an ongoing research effort to understand what motivates young adults to prepare for earthquakes and other natural disasters. Click here to play.

Swaptoberfest, the Mid-Valley Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) Emergency Service Volunteer Fair and Ham Radio Swap Meet, will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Oct. 21 at the Polk County Fairgrounds. OEM Emergency Communications Officer Doug Jimenez (W7DMJ) will bring out OEM’s Communications Trailer, where he and volunteers will support Jamboree-on-the-Air (JOTA) and Jamboree-on-the-Internet (JOTI), the world’s largest digital Scout event. JOTA-JOTI uses amateur radio to let young people learn about communications technology and connect with fellow Scouts from over 174 countries. Click here to learn more.

OEM has extended the deadline and updated the review process for the SPIRE III grant application. The new deadline for receipt of SPIRE applications is Jan. 2, 2024. There are two upcoming technical assistance sessions providing information and tips on the application process and answering any questions: 1 p.m. on Oct. 25 and 9 a.m. on Oct. 27. Click here to join the Zoom call. Click here to learn more about SPIRE and apply.

Private nonprofit organizations in the Burns Paiute Tribe have until Oct. 27 to apply for an SBA federal disaster loan for property damage caused by severe storm, flooding, landslides and mudslides that occurred June 11-12. Private nonprofits that provide essential services of a governmental nature are eligible for assistance. Eligible private nonprofits of any size may apply for SBA federal disaster loans of up to $2 million to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate, machinery and equipment, inventory and other business assets. Click here to learn more and apply.

The Oregon State Interoperability Executive Council in partnership with the CISA Emergency Communications Division, is updating the Oregon Statewide Interoperability Communications Plan. The council is seeking feedback on where Oregon currently stands with maintaining and improving emergency communications interoperability. Click here to fill out a survey that will guide the development of updated strategic goals and objectives for the state; submit by 5 p.m. on Nov. 1. Following the survey, the council will hold three webinars focused on data collection and brainstorming; click here to view webinar details.

What would you do if your agency’s official social media accounts got hacked? How would you let your community know? How would you get control back? And what can you do to prevent it? The Justice Clearinghouse is offering a free webinar from 10-11:15 a.m. on Nov. 2 providing those answers from someone whose agency experienced a large-scale, international hack of their Facebook page. You’ll learn about prevention strategies, key contacts at social media platforms, informing your followers, recovery plans and more. Click here to register.

FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grants support states, local communities, tribes and territories as they undertake hazard mitigation projects to reduce the risks they face from disasters and natural hazards. OEM has announced FEMA’s Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for BRIC and Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) FY23 grant. Click here to learn more and join OEM's Mitigation Team at 2 p.m. on Nov. 14 for a Teams webinar to discuss the NOFO. FEMA has also selected nine Oregon community mitigation projects totaling just under $105 million to move forward in the FY22 BRIC grant. This is the largest amount of potential BRIC funding Oregon has ever received. Click here to view the selected projects.

OEM will host a National U.S. Coast Guard Basic Inland SAR Course class in conjunction with the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center (AFRCC). The class will be held Nov. 14-16 at the state ECC. This course is targeted toward U.S. Coast Guard, Civil Air Patrol, local SAR team members and those who would be an Incident Commander (IC) in a SAR environment. There is still space available for anyone interested. Click here to learn more and click here to register.

OEM has released Round 1 of the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program (SLCGP), which helps governments manage and reduce systemic cyber risk by funding the development of cybersecurity plans, projects and capability gaps. State and local partners are invited to register to apply by Nov. 15. Eligible applicants, including local and tribal units of government, will be provided access to the application portal and necessary forms to submit. Click here to learn more.

The Private Sector Preparedness Response and Recovery (PSPR2) Mass Casualty Impact and Recovery seminar series final session on Nov. 16 will cover Civil and Criminal Judicial Processes. Click here to learn more and register.

Oregon Department of Emergency Management (OEM) staff from the State 911 Program attended the Oregon APCO NENA Fall Training Conference in Bend earlier this month. The conference provides an opportunity for 911 telecommunicators and dispatchers across the state to network, share information, and be recognized for their outstanding work during an awards banquet. OEM staff provided a booth at the vendor hall offering information about the State 911 Program and enjoyed spending time with members of Oregon's 911 community.

The State 911 Program was honored to recently recognize the retirement of Lisa St. Helen of Portland 911 (BOEC, pictured left) and Toni Sexton of Clackamas 911 (CCOM, pictured right) for their exceptional careers serving their local communities while contributing to numerous statewide initiatives. Their contributions to Oregon 911 will be felt for generations to come.

The Office of Access and Functional Needs is spearheading the development of an AFN-specific training module for Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) volunteers. The new training module will adopt a whole community focus that highlights the disproportionate impact disasters have on individuals with access and functional needs; ways to support people with access or functional considerations; and how to integrate CERT teams to include volunteers and leaders with lived AFN experience. The AFN-specific module, which is scheduled for completion in January 2024, will be made available nationally. Click here to learn more about Oregon CERT.  

Following the devastating wildfires on the island of Maui, the state of Hawaii reached out through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) seeking support and technical assistance to ESF-6 mass care operations and coordination during recovery operations. EMAC allows states to send personnel, equipment and commodities during governor-declared states of emergency or disaster to assist with response and recovery efforts in other states. OEM is sending a State Voluntary Agency Liaison to help develop donation warehouse, commodity distribution, Volunteer Reception Centers, messaging for volunteers and donations, and training resources. The mission will last from Nov. 8-22. She joins a finance person from ODF serving from Oct. 16 to Nov. 5. ODHS/OREM’s mass care shower units have been extended through Nov. 16. Click here to learn more about EMAC.

The Oregon Health Authority AmeriCorps VISTA Program is recruiting for an AmeriCorps VISTA Leader to guide VISTA members through their year of service to public health organizations throughout the state. VISTA leaders work with co-leaders to support activities for a team of roughly 10-25 AmeriCorps VISTA members serving across Oregon to fight poverty. Click here to learn more and apply.

Benton County CERT, which is celebrating 20 years, recently brought ASL to its ongoing trainings to provide equitable training and response to the whole community. A diverse team of instructors is teaching members the alphabet, emergency titles, and introductory phrases such as, "Are you hurt?" and "My name is ... , I'm here to help." The goal is to be creative in how the team learns these basic skills. 

Benton County CERT also just completed its first annual refresher training, partnering with Oregon State University’s Public Safety Team for a full-scale exercise where teams determined search patterns, discussed how to assist an injured person, and operated fire extinguishers and utility controls along the way.