*** ■JÌortlanò (Dhseruer
Page AIO
May 18, 2011
Are we Earthquake Proof ?
by :
C ari H achmann /
T he P ortland O bserver
Past Earthquakes
predict Portland’s
next Big One
M ost disturbing to our collective
subconscious is the recent string o f
earthquakes to strike w ithout w arn­
ing around the w orld; in H aiti, a 7.2
earthquake left 200,000 people dead,
in Chile, an 8.8 earthquake killed 800,
and in Japan, a 9.0 earthquake and
tsunam i left nearly 15,000dead and
12,000 missing.
O ur last big earthquake and tsu­ NW 13th and Glisan- Buildings constructed o f brick and mortar or unreinforced masonry are considered seismic hazards and vulner­
nami occurred 311 years ago in 1700 able to collapse by engineers and earthquake seismologists. Over a thousand buildings in the Portland Metro area need retrofitting.
alo n g the C a sc a d ia S u b d u c tio n oth er areas resting on ancient soils,
W ith a m ajority o f injuries occur- edge w ith fam ily then y o u ’ve de- (2011 Earthquake Sym posium Port-
Z one, a 600 mile long earthquake w ould likely w ipe out critical life
ring inside buildings w here unbolted cided th e y ’re are going to be vie- land State U niversity),
fault stretching from offshore north­ lines to o u r city, severing highw ays structures fall atop people, schools,
tim s, and il you don t share the Three sim p le steps to p rep a re f o r
ern C alifornia to southern B ritish for em ergency response and sup­ em ployers, and hom eow ners need
know ledge w ith y o u r friends and an E arth qu ake (reco m m en ded by
Columbia.
plies, toppling unretrofitted bridges to prevent such risks by bolting top com m unity - then they too, becom e R ea d y A m e ric a ):
R ecent scientific evidence sug­ built before 1994, including the 1973 heavy furniture like bookcases to
victims.
l . G e t a K it- I f y o u m ust survive
gests that 75 percent o f the forty Freem ont and m ost other spans
w alls, - placing
.
.
.
- breakables low, and
E arthquake experts em p h asize on y o u r ow n, you w ill need food,
giant earthquakes recorded by e x ­ w hile leaving a path o f destructive installing latches on cabinets.
that preparation is the responsibil- w ater, and supplies to last for at
perts over the last 10,000 years have fires, hazardous m aterials, and de-
Experts say, athough costly, retro- ity o f individuals and fam ilies, and least 3 - 10 days. It’s b etter to have
occurred irregularly betw een 300-
,
fitting unsafe buildings in Portland is people should not rely on the gov- y o u r ow n kit prepared in case disas-
500 years apart.
W e re confident that a m agm - extrem ely beneficial to saving lives, em m ent, police, fire departm ents, ter re lie f w orkers are delayed, and
This m eans, we are well w ithin tude-9 earthquake will hit O regon," D uring extensive ground m otion, e m e rg e n c y re sp o n se u n its, an d keep in m ind that electricity, gas.
the w indow for another big ground Y um ei W an g , g e o h az a rd s team concrete, steel-reinforced, and w ood
technology to protect you.
w ater, sew age treatm ent, and tele-
shaking and a w orst case scenario leader o f the O regon D epartm ent o f b u ild in g s sh o u ld w ith stan d , but
B lackouts and a severely dam - phones m ay be cut o ff for days,
could hit hom e as soon as tom orrow G eology and M ineral Industries told hom es built before the 1970s risk
aged infrastructure m ean nobody is
2. M ake a P lan - Y o u r family may
o r w ithin the next 50 years, experts the O regonian. She expects coastal being shifted off foundation.
com ing to help you, y o u r fam ily o r n o t be to g e th e r w h e n d is a s te r
say.
U.S. 101 will be inoperable and high-
y o u r n eig h b o rh o o d fo r p o ssib ly strikes, so it is im portant to plan in
O re g o n ’s next big one will occur w ays betw een Interstate 5 and the
w eeks. It took a w eek fo r the Japa- advance: how you w ill contact one
w hen the Juan De Fuca plate - a coast w ill be blocked by landslides,
nese to begin a rescue effort and another; how you w ill get back to-
region o f the E arth ’s crust - sud­ the article read.
they are the best prepared country gether; and w hat you w ill do in
d e n ly th ru s ts u n d e r th e N o rth
R ig id , e lo n g ated o b je cts like
E ducation, outreach, and under­ on earth, said R oddey.
different situations? It’s a good idea
A m erican plate, generating an earth­ sew er and w ater lines, transm ission standing the risk are the m ost im por-
A lthough it s going to be scary, to have an out-of-tow n contact to
quake w ith a m agnitude up to 9.0, tow ers, and anything relying on the tant things people can do before you and your fam ily can prepare, call and tell o f y o u r status,
capable o f dropping coastlines 1-2 electrical grid itself w ould alm ost they get prepared, advises Jam es How well you prepare determ ines the
3. B e Inform ed - Prepare y our
m eters and triggering tsunam i w aves certainly cease to fu n c tio n -k n o c k - R oddey, earthquake scientist and quality o f life you have after som e- hom e. Learn m ore about the poten-
over 60 ft high.
m g o u t p o w er and isolating citizens spokesm an for the O regon D epart- thing like an earthquake is over, and tial em erg en cies that could happen
Understanding
the Risk, Damage
A Worst Case
Scenario
Long seism ic w aves generated
by quakes o f such great m agnitude
w ould put m uch o f P o rtlan d ’s ill-
prepared infrastructure and electri­
cal grid to sham e, engineers and
earthquake experts say.
A m plified ground shaking, large-
scale landslides, and soil liquefac­
tion near the W illam ette R iver and
■M
w ithout com m unication, w ater and
fuel for w eeks.
A seismic study conducted by Dr.
Franz Rad, PSU professor o f Civil &
E n v iro n m en tal E n g in eerin g , ex -
plained that in the Portland M etro
area alone, over a thousand build-
ings built before 1985 in need o f ret-
_ .
,
.
rofitting and made o f un-reinforced
m ent o f G eology and M ineral In-
dustries (D O G A M I).
R oddey spends m ost o f his tim e
at the O regon coast educating the
public - a better prepared com m u-
nity than Portland he say s— on
em ergency earthquake and tsunam i
ev acu atio n
“Ify o u choose to ignore the idea
m asonry could alone total a loss o f
hie up to 13,000.
H econcluded, “Killerearthquakes
on t kill, killer buildings kill.”
o f getting prepared fo r som ething
like this, y o u ’ve basically decided
to becom e a victim ,” ex explained,
“A nd if you d o n ’t share the know l-
if y o u ’re prepared for this, y o u ’re
w here you live and the appropriate
prepared for any type o f disaster.
W ho is going to save us? W ho
will provide food, w ater, juviivj.iuiu
shelter, and
m edical care? Y ou m ay be surprised
w ay to respond to them and k n o w ­
ing w hat to do during an em ergency
is an im portant part o f being p re­
pared and m ay m ake all the d iffer­
ence w hen seconds count.
For m ore safety inform ation, visit
w
w w
w . . s s iic
h a t k R e .c o u u u t . i.o
o r r g g / /v
O j r r e e g g o o n n , ,
w w
w w w .e a r th q u a k e c o u n tr y .o r g ,
by the answ er: Y ou and y o u r neigh-
bors. T he follow ing are seven steps
that m ay save y o u r life during and
after an earthquake and tsunam i,
www.ready.gov/america/index.htm l,
w w w .p d x p r e p a r e d .n e t,
w w w .fem a.gov/about/process o r at
visit your local R ed C ross office.
Preparation
and Survival
BUMMS
Non Profit Spins Wheels of Life
c o n t i n u e d f r o m fr o n t
O ne program that is evolving for
the Com m unity Cycling C enter is the
U nderstanding Barriers to Bicycling
project, which began in 2008 with a
need s a sse ssm e n t to b u ild in g a
healthy com m unity. A ccording to
both G raves and Tettah, the effort
has driven every program they have
created since.
The m ission was carried out by
first investigating the cultural and
transportation histories o f north and
northeast Portland and im proving the
organization’s ow n cultural com pe­
tence, and then by reaching out to
m eet the needs o f the diverse popu­
lations w ithin the com m unity.
O ne such effort betw een the H a­
cien d a C om m unity D evelopm ent
Corporation, the N ew C olum biacom -
muni ty, and the cycling center worked
to reduce the sense o f social isolation
that im m igrants often experience
within their ne w com m uni ties, as well
as increase a m ore attainable healthy
environm ent.
Currently, the Community Cycling
C enter is w orking with these partners
build more places for bike storage,
which makes biking more practical for
m any com m uters.
“W e ’re focusing our education
program and advocacy initiatives with
the com m unity out there because the
need isn ’t ju st about bicycles,” said
G raves. “The need is also for people
photo by M indy C ooper /T he P ortland O bserver
D avid K urushim a, 2 6 , w orks as a bike m echan ic an d in s tru c to r a t
to com e together and w ork together the C om m unity C ycling Center, a non-profit bicycling sho p on
to build com m unity.”
N o rth e a s t A lberta S treet.