‘Cascadia Rising’ exercise tests emergency response efforts in Washington, Oregon and Idaho

Here’s a news item from the Associated Press: The Pacific Northwest kicked off a massive earthquake and tsunami drill Tuesday as part of a multiday event to rehearse scenarios on how the region would deal with a dual natural disaster that could kill thousands, cut off coastal communities, and collapse phone and internet service. The four-day event, called Cascadia Rising, is built around the premise of a 9.0 magnitude earthquake 95 miles off of the coast of Oregon that results in a tsunami. Both events would likely destroy buildings, roads and buildings and disrupt communications.

Major General Bret Daugherty, commander of the Washington National Guard, said that when the Cascadia Subduction Zone — a 600-mile-long fault just off the coast that runs from Northern California to British Columbia — ruptures “it will result in a catastrophe like nothing we have ever seen.” “It’s expected to be the worst natural disaster ever in the United States,” he said. “So we’re taking this week very, very seriously and we’re pulling in every possible resource so that when the quake actually hits we’re assured that we are all on the same page in our response efforts.”

Federal officials say about 20,000 people will be involved in the disaster drill, representing various federal agencies, the U.S. military, and state and local emergency response managers from Washington, Oregon and Idaho, Native American tribes and emergency management officials in British Columbia.

Scientific evidence indicates that a magnitude 8.0-9.0 earthquake occurs along the 800-mile long Cascadia Subduction Zone fault line, which stretches along the coast from northern California to southern British Columbia, on average once every 200 to 500 years. The last major earthquake and tsunami along the fault occurred more than 300 years ago in 1700.

In Idaho, the exercise will include the Idaho Bureau of Homeland Security, the state Department of Health & Welfare, all seven public health districts, and state and local government emergency management officials. Emergency operations centers in Boundary, Bonner, Clearwater, Idaho, Latah, Lewis, Nez Perce, Kootenai, and Shoshone counties will be activated.

“While Idaho is not inside the expected physical impact area, we are testing our ability to support our neighbors should a Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake and tsunami happen,” said Idaho Bureau of Homeland Security Chief Brad Richy. “One of these functions would be to provide support to evacuees and displaced individuals from our neighboring states. Idaho’s participation in this exercise is part of an ongoing effort to maintain an optimal level of readiness.”