Wed Oct 30 20:20:00 UTC 2024: ## Portland Prepares for the Big One: City Simulates 9.0 Earthquake
**PORTLAND, OR** – As Oregon’s Cascades brace for the first major snowfall of the season, Portland is busy preparing for a different kind of storm: a catastrophic earthquake. The city is participating in a two-day statewide simulation exercise called Iron-OR 24, aimed at testing emergency response protocols for a 9.0 magnitude earthquake.
“We’re in that timeframe where we could experience another one at any time, so we’re getting ready,” said Amanda Westervelt, Operations Coordinator at the Portland Bureau of Emergency Management.
Located in the Cascadia Subduction Zone, which last experienced a major earthquake in 1700, Portland faces a 37% chance of a similar event within the next 50 years. The city is urging residents to be “two weeks ready,” ensuring they have enough water and food in case basic services are disrupted.
For the exercise, city agencies are working under the assumption that a 9.0 earthquake struck four days prior, and they are assessing local impacts and community needs. “We’ve been given a playbook, but every hour we’re getting a changing script,” said Brandon Zero, PIO for the Portland Water Bureau.
While the simulation highlights potential weaknesses, Zero emphasized Portland’s strengths: “We have two reliable sources of clean water: the Bull Run Reservoir and groundwater water supply from the Columbia South Shore Well Field.” However, the city acknowledges the vulnerability of its infrastructure, with “almost all of [its] 150 bridges” likely to fail in a major earthquake, according to Dylan Rivera, PIO at the Portland Bureau of Transportation.
The goal of Iron-OR 24 is to improve the city’s preparedness for any disaster, including earthquakes. “We are trying to get better at response generally,” said Westervelt. “Every time we gather ourselves in this way, we get to know each other better, we learn more, and we get more prepared.”
To help residents prepare, the city recommends storing two weeks’ worth of water in a safe location and signing up for emergency alerts at publicalerts.org.
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