Readiness Report: Valentine's Day Edition

January’s winter storm was a devastating start to 2024. Seventeen Oregonians lost their lives to the event, and our hearts go out to their loved ones. The Initial Damage Assessment showed damage costs and losses to public infrastructure will exceed $75 million, making this event one of the state’s highest initial damage assessments. As of Feb. 12, FEMA and our agency are working with local and tribal representatives to conduct joint Preliminary Damage Assessments. Teams are conducting damage assessments both in-person and virtually in Benton, Clackamas, Columbia, Coos, Hood River, Lane, Lincoln, Linn, Multnomah, Tillamook, and Wasco counties and with the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians. The documentation from these assessments will be used by the state to support the governor’s decision about whether to request a major disaster declaration with public assistance for public infrastructure. We will know more in the next few weeks and will continue to keep our partners informed.

We are grateful to our partners at the Small Business Administration for making low-interest federal disaster loans available to small businesses economically impacted by the winter ice storm in several Oregon counties. Read more details in the story below.

Internally, we are focusing on the results of our 90-day assessment, through which we identified several areas of opportunity and growth within our organization. We are already starting to address these findings through listening sessions and workgroups, which will inform our strategic planning for the future of ODEM. Later this month, we’ll be reaching out to many of you to fill out a survey to help us shape the future of the agency and emergency management in Oregon.

In tandem with our organizational focus, this month also holds significance as we celebrate Black History Month, recognizing the accomplishments and contributions of Black Americans past and present. As we aim to create space for what we believe the future of emergency management should look like, we do so knowing that historically marginalized and underserved communities face an increased level of risk from disasters. These communities also experience systemic inequities that contribute to underrepresentation in disaster response design and implementation. In recognition of Black History Month, I encourage you to explore the NAACP’s emergency management toolkit, In the Eye of the Storm: A People’s Guide to Transforming Crisis & Advancing Equity in the Disaster Continuum. This is an excellent resource that guides you through the process of building equity into the four phases of emergency management.

Thank you for all that you do,

Erin McMahon
Director, Oregon Department of Emergency Management

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is offering low-interest federal disaster loans for working capital to small businesses economically impacted by the winter ice storm that occurred Jan. 12 to 20. SBA acted under its own authority to declare a disaster following a request received from Gov. Tina Kotek on Feb. 6.

The disaster declaration makes SBA assistance available in Benton, Clackamas, Clatsop, Columbia, Deschutes, Douglas, Hood River, Klamath, Lane, Lincoln, Linn, Marion, Multnomah, Polk, Tillamook, Wasco, Washington and Yamhill counties in Oregon.

Applicants may apply online and receive additional disaster assistance information at SBA.gov/disaster. The deadline to apply is Nov. 8.

Final data validated by Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) confirmed that the state exceeded all three goals set by Governor Tina Kotek through her homelessness state of emergency, which she signed on her first full day in office in 2023. The data showed that following the signing of EO 23-02 and passage of House Bill 5019 to fund resources for the executive order:

• 1,047 low-barrier shelter beds were created, surpassing the original goal by 447 beds (175% of the goal).
• 1,833 households experiencing unsheltered homelessness were rehoused, exceeding the original goal by 633 households (153%).
• 8,993 households were prevented from experiencing homelessness, exceeding the original goal by 243 households (103%).

We are grateful to our partners at the Governor's Office and OHCS for all the coordination in helping achieve these goals and looks forward to continuing this partnership through the new executive orders 24-02 and 24-03. Learn more at the State of Oregon Newsroom.

We are excited to invite you to this year's Oregon Prepared, our state emergency preparedness workshop, being held at Sunriver Resort, April 23 to 25, with pre-workshop activities on April 22.

We are pleased to be able to continue offering Oregon Prepared with no registration fee. Registration is limited to 450 individuals, so please ensure your staff are individually registered early! Visit the Oregon Prepared webpage to register by April 1.

The Pacific ADA Center is offering a virtual webinar on service animal and ADA compliance at 11:30 a.m. on Feb. 22. This webinar will address the definition of a service animal, places a service animal can and cannot visit with their handler, the questions that can be asked of the person with a disability and how to interact with a service animal. It will also review a sample service animal policy for health care facilities. Register with Zoom by Feb. 21.

Commemorate Black History Month by rolling up a sleeve to give blood or platelets. During Black History Month this February, the American Red Cross honors the significant achievements of Black Americans and the vital role blood donations from individuals who are Black play in meeting the transfusion needs of patients and those with sickle cell disease. Right now, the Red Cross is experiencing an emergency blood shortage, and donors are urged to give blood or platelets as soon as possible. 

Encourage your community to schedule an appointment at RedCrossBlood.org/OurBlood or by calling 1-800-RED CROSS. The American Red Cross is giving a $20 Amazon.com gift card by email to anyone who donates blood, platelets or plasma Feb. 1 to 29. 

Employers and workers across the state are invited to take part in Safety Break for Oregon on May 8. Coordinated by Oregon Occupational Safety and Health (Oregon OSHA), the annual event offers an opportunity to employers, supervisors, and workers to celebrate their safety and health achievements and to examine and renew their efforts to protect people from harm while on the job.

Safety Break for Oregon can be used as a time to refresh your knowledge and training, conduct an assessment of where safety and health could be improved at your workplace or recognize emerging safety leaders.

Sign up to participate and get Safety Break logos, sample awards and other free resources by visiting the Safety Break for Oregon website.

Oregon State University Extension is offering two national award-winning projects on their Cascadia Earthquake Preparedness web page at https://beav.es/cascadiaprepare. The free, online learning system portal for Preparing for the Cascadia Subduction Zone Event offers modules to help participants gain awareness, learn what to do during and right after the big quake, and prepare to shelter in place or evacuate. It also includes a virtual reality simulation of a Magnitude 9.1 earthquake.   

Pro-tip: Don’t register as a Guest. You will be locked out of the free course. Follow directions in the portal to enroll. A Spanish version of the Cascadia Earthquake Preparedness web page is also available.

FEMA’s IPAWS Office is offering three tabletop exercise events in February that will allow alert originators to practice alert, warning and notification capabilities for winter weather emergencies. This will be a scenario-based exercise with facilitated group discussions to promote peer-to-peer learning. There will be two virtual events and one in-person event, all offering the same training:

Virtual Tabletop Exercise: Feb. 27, 8 to 10 a.m. Register for this event on Zoom.

Virtual Tabletop Exercise: Feb. 28, 10 a.m. to noon. Register for this event on Zoom.

In-Person Tabletop Exercise: Feb. 29, 8 to 10 a.m. at the National Harbor in Maryland. Seating is limited. To register, please email the IPAWS TSSF training and exercise staff at fema-ipaws-training-exercises@fema.dhs.gov, stating your request to participate, a primary point of contact for your organization, agency name and the number of expected participants.

The Pacific ADA Center has opened registration for the 2024 Americans with Disabilities Act Virtual Conference taking place Feb. 27 and 28. Hear from a variety of experts in the field and learn how to comply with the ADA, be more inclusive and provide higher quality services to people with disabilities. 

The cost of the conference is $200 per day. For detailed session information and to register, visit the conference webpage.

The City of Corvallis is offering a free business resilience workshop from 1 to 4 p.m. on Feb. 29 at the Corvallis Library. Guest speakers will provide a review of the local emergency response plans, what types of incidents to expect and steps businesses can take now to be better prepared. Attendance is limited to 50 participants. Registration is required; to register, visit CorvallisOregon.gov.

The Oregon Statewide Interoperability Program is hosting an All-Hazards Communications Unit Leader (COML) course in Salem from April 2 to 5. The COML course trains emergency responders to serve as communications unit leaders during all-hazards emergency operations. 

Detailed information about the course, including pre-requisite requirements and how to register to attend, can be found on this Microsoft form. There is no cost to attend.

FEMA Region 10 will be hosting a webinar and discussion at noon on Feb. 21 for local municipalities and local fire districts to hear from FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) and Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) staff. This is a great opportunity for locals to hear directly from subject matter experts about FEMA AFG/SAFER grants and ask any questions. Join the webinar at ZoomGov Meeting (Meeting ID: 161 930 6810, Passcode: 643708).

The CONVERGE Training Modules series is designed to educate students, early career researchers, and others new to the field on the fundamentals of hazards and disaster research. If you want to learn more about this series, they are offering a brief 30-minute webinar from 1 to 1:30 p.m. on Feb. 20. Register at the CONVERGE website.    

DHS/CISA has released a Violence Prevention through De-escalation video to help identify concerning behaviors and mitigate the risk from incidents of targeted violence. The video provides both security and non-security trained professionals with conflict prevention techniques and recommended practices. This approach can help individuals who observe activities and behaviors that may be considered suspicious, or indicative of potentially violent activity, reduce the risk of a potentially volatile situation. 

For more information and to access this video, visit CISA.gov.

The annual Oregon Law Enforcement and Fire Public Information Officer conference will be held at the Sunriver Resort April 9 to 12.

The conference offers practical case studies, helpful tips and hands on training for new and seasoned PIOs. Access the conference registration form to reserve your space and view additional details regarding hotel reservations.

Positions are now open for the April 2024 to 2025 cohort in the Oregon Health Authority AmeriCorps VISTA Partnership Project. The project aims to alleviate, prevent and reduce poverty by engaging new public health professionals in a year of full-time service in major public health organizations to create or expand public health systems capacity. AmeriCorps VISTA members serve full-time, forty hours per week in a capacity building role in statewide organizations, local public health departments, tribal governments or non-profits across the state. Work is done in an indirect service and capacity- building role in a professional office setting and there are many opportunities for training and professional development.

Positions are posted on the OHA AmeriCorps VISTA Positions by Region page. Applications are open until Feb. 26.

The Upper McKenzie Community Center recently conducted a community-wide debrief that focused on lessons learned as a community during the recovery of the 2019 snowstorm and the 2020 Labor Day fires. They began building their own preparedness by reinforcing their community center with the necessities to include backup power, communication capabilities, a heating source and a full kitchen to prepare meals during emergencies. The debrief identified gaps in their ability to open the facility in a timely manner, challenges in accessing fuel, and the coordinating of resources to support the community were all items added to the list to focus on in the future. Participants included members of the fire districts, long term recovery group, the Community Organizations Active in Disasters (COAD) chair, as well as many members of the community. Kudos to the Upper McKenzie Community Center Board for their continued efforts in building the preparedness of their community. OEM Deputy Director Patence Winningham presented a challenge coin to Upper McKenzie Community Center President John Carlisle, who has continued to drive efforts in this community for the last five years.

Tony Clem
Chief Information Officer
IT Section
Cell 503-569-2582
tony.clem@oem.oregon.gov

Tony joined the agency on Feb. 5 as the Chief Information Officer. With more than 20 years of experience in IT leadership roles, security operations and compliance management, Tony brings a proven track record of overseeing multimillion-dollar projects, enhancing security protocols and leading strategic initiatives in various corporate setting. A team leader and collaborative problem-solver, he brings a focus on achieving excellence in the IT disciplines. Tony lives on a small farm and is outnumbered by more than 30 chickens.

Sophi Beym
Tribal Liaison
Strategic Communication & Partnerships Section
Cell 971-718-7945
sophi.beym@oem.oregon.gov

Sophi also joined us on Feb. 5 as our new Tribal Liaison. She brings 18 years serving federally recognized tribes throughout the U.S. in emergency management, including 14 months working in hazard mitigation while living in Puerto Rico. Her experience includes teaching the Tribal Curriculum at Emergency Management Institute and teaching at Columbia University in the National Center of Disaster Preparedness. Her commitment to providing guidance, technical assistance and opportunities for tribes to enhance capacity in emergency management will add great value to enhancing our agency’s relationship with our tribal partners.