bnr-Cascadia-Rising-2016
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Cascadia Rising 2016 Exercise

For the largest emergency preparedness drill in the Pacific Northwest, WSP USA worked with local, tribal and state agencies to test and strengthen a blueprint for a major earthquake response scenario.

Client

  • Oregon Office of Emergency Management

Project Status

  • Complete

Preparing for a Potential Catastrophic Event

Science points to a large 8.0-9.0 magnitude Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ) earthquake ripping across the 800-mile CSZ fault line once every 200 to 500 years. The last major earthquake and tsunami occurred in 1700, which means authorities need to prepare now for a potential catastrophic event that could endanger eight million lives.

More than 50 counties, cities, tribal nations, state and federal agencies, private sector businesses, and nongovernmental organizations across Washington, Oregon and Idaho and one Canadian province, participated in the four-day Cascadia Rising 2016 Exercise. To develop a coordinated response to a CSZ event, WSP provided exercise planning, facilitation and documentation services over a four-month period to the Oregon Office of Emergency Management (OEM) and its multi-state partners, all in varying capacity and at different stages in the planning process.

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Building Awareness

Technical support focused on building awareness and functional tools. WSP built a web-based resource center to provide key participants access to a central location for exercise materials, training and guidance documents. We facilitated meetings to set and align objectives, define needs, uncover challenges and create solutions. With an understanding of the diverse needs and goals in place, we maximized participation through a combination of in-person and remote training.

A Better Understanding

The training achieved the agency integration that was critical to its success, and partners came to the table engaged, equipped and fully prepared to participate, despite the aggressive timeline. For the first time, all nine tribes in Oregon participated jointly in a single exercise, and local and tribal partners walked away with a better understanding of their strengths and weaknesses related to managing a CSZ catastrophe, as well tailored solutions.

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Other challenges that we have overcome