Local, state and federal leaders converged recently to better prepare for the Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake and tsunami, which is expected to affect Oregon, Washington, California and British Columbia, Canada.
More than 50 leaders and staff from Oregon coastal communities, tribes, Oregon Department of Emergency Management (OEM), Oregon Department of Human Services Office of Resilience and Emergency Management (OREM), Oregon Health Authority, Port of Portland, FEMA, and the U.S. Navy attended the event called the Defense Support to Civil Authorities (DSCA) Senior Leadership Seminar. It was held in the brand-new Portland International Airport conference room – which has been built to withstand a 9.0 earthquake.
The establishment of the DSCA Senior Leadership Seminar, started in 2010 in other West Coast cities coming to Oregon at least once in 2019. This recent seminar opened the door wider for engagement of federal, state and local emergency response leaders…