Central Oregon's role in Cascadia earthquake disaster plans | In focus

(This article was first published in 2019. The Central Oregon Daily News is republishing it after last week's 7.0 magnitude earthquake off the coast of California prompted a tsunami warning for the Oregon coast.)

Imagine the 2011 Japanese tsunami, which inundated that country's coast following a 9.0-magnitude earthquake, and occurred in Florence, Newport, or Seaside, Oregon. This tsunami, caused by the massive Tohoku region, killed nearly 20,000 people and caused an estimated $150 billion to $200 billion in damage.

Chris Goldfinger, an Oregon geologist who specializes in subduction zone earthquakes, describes what happened in Japan as almost a success compared to other similar disasters.

“Around the Indian Ocean, they lost a quarter of a million people and they lost only – 'only' – 20,000 in Japan. So the 10 times better performance was a result of education and flexibility and training and all the things that helped make that happen. 'The Japanese did their best to over the past 1,000 years to become more resilient.”

A major Cascadia earthquake and tsunami could upend daily life in Central Oregon. This could mean that US 97 would replace I-5, in the short term, as the main north-south connector in Oregon.

Emergency planners like Deschutes County Sergeant Nathan Garibay use the word resilience often.

“Resilience is the ability to recover from a challenge and this is one of the biggest challenges the Pacific Northwest will face,” Garibay said.

“We will all need to be resilient if something like what happened in Japan happens in Oregon due to a similar earthquake along the Cascadia subduction zone,” Garibay said. This is a 700-mile-long fault that runs from northern California to British Columbia, roughly 70 to 100 miles offshore.

According to the Oregon Department of Emergency Management, the last earthquake to hit the fault was on January 26, 1700. It caused the shoreline to drop several feet and created a tsunami. That earthquake? 9.0 – Just like the Japan earthquake.

The Redmond Fairgrounds will become a major logistics hub

Garibay walked with us through the Redmond Fairgrounds, a site that will be a major logistics hub as local, state and federal agencies converge to deal with the earthquake and tsunami aftermath.

“You're looking at the need for shelter, food, water supply, medicine, medical teams and all these different resources, including law enforcement, fire, search and rescue, utility crews. All of these things can be brought to Redmond, in phases,” Garibay said. Safely up in the mountains to support the recovery response and recovery efforts.”

We can expect a large active military and National Guard presence.

“If you look at what the military does really well, which is coming into austere environments where there's a lot of people and a lot of things and being able to move that and move it efficiently and safely, you know, they're going to have a big role in the response,” Garibay said.

The fairgrounds are well located adjacent to the Redmond Municipal Airport and close to the US Forest Service Redmond Air Center. If there is damage at Portland International Airport and at Salem and Eugene airports, the complex will serve as a key link in resupplying the devastated Willamette Valley and coast. An immediate city of responders will appear here.

“And if you think about a disaster the size of Cascadia, you might see multiple cities like this spread out along that fringe area where the disaster becomes less impactful,” Garibay said.

We can also see earthquake refugees needing shelter and services for weeks or months.

“Given Central Oregon's expected importance as a staging area and incident support base, it's possible that we may not necessarily be the primary place where displaced residents might be sent,” Garibay said. “But that certainly doesn't rule out the fact that we are a destination. People could be here on vacation.” “Unable to return to their homes, people may make their way here, or it may be necessary, out of necessity, to move people from hard-hit areas to central Oregon.”

Preparing yourself and your family is key

Being prepared, having supplies on hand, and taking care of ourselves will free up emergency responders to focus on the big picture.

“First responders will be confined to the hardest hit areas. So, while they're doing that, we're here taking care of ourselves. If we can do that, they won't worry about us and we'll do that.” “I can do it,” said Debra Slade, a Red Cross disaster response trainer.

Every household should have an emergency kit containing water, canned food, medicine, and basic first aid. And remember, with highways damaged and transportation disrupted, we can't rely on restocking stores or gas stations. Depending on the damage across the mountains. We can defend ourselves for a long time. Three days of supplies is a standard suggestion, but the worst Cascadia earthquake would be no ordinary disaster.

“Three days is great, but two weeks is better. That means you're less likely to have to worry about, 'Oh, do I have enough for day two?' Did I run out of stuff? You have two weeks in a better position. “The situation is for your survival,” Slade said.

It's a good idea to keep smaller versions in each vehicle as well.

And how likely is this to happen to us?

“This will happen, perhaps in our generation,” Goldfinger said.

You can find more information on how to prepare here from the Red Cross.

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