Governor Proclaims April as Earthquake & Tsunami Awareness Month in Oregon

Governor proclaims April 2007 as Earthquake & Tsunami Awareness Month; Schools should prepare for the release of Seismic Assessment Report in May.

Photo; Tim King

(SALEM) - During April, the Oregon Department of Education will be supporting the Governor’s initiative to provide information on earthquake and tsunami preparedness by providing a series of four messages to schools via the SUPER list.

In his proclamation, the Governor noted:

• Oregon suffered considerable damage from two moderate earthquake events in 1993 and a distant tsunami from Alaska in 1964

• Scientific evidence indicates that the State or Oregon is at risk for much larger and potentially more damaging earthquakes and tsunamis

• A major earthquake associated with the Cascadia Subduction Zone is expected to generate strong ground shaking and a destructive tsunami, in which the most recent event of this type occurred on January 26, 1700 and will be similar to the event that occurred in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Sumatra on December 26, 2004

• Oregon enacted laws in 1995 and 2001 that require schools, state and local agencies, and large private employers to instruct and drill students and employees on emergency procedures such as those related to earthquakes and tsunamis

• Seismic strengthening of existing buildings and public education on local tsunami evacuation is strongly encouraged to further reduce loss of life and property damage

• Oregon enacted laws in 2001 that require schools and emergency facilities to meet seismic life safety standards, and in 2005 enacted laws that will provide state funds to help mitigate high risk schools and emergency facilities

• Emergency management agencies will highlight these preparedness and mitigation procedures and provide increased earthquake and tsunami information to Oregonians during April.

In addition, this month ODE will be providing information to schools and school districts re: Senate Bill 2.

The bill, passed in 2005, is a landmark step in helping improve earthquake safety for Oregon's public schools and emergency facilities.

The bill’s sponsor, Senate President Peter Courtney (D-Salem), has said of the legislation, "As Oregonians, we face the very real threat of a severe earthquake just off our coast, like the earthquake and tsunami that hit Indian Ocean nations last December. Communities throughout our state also have earthquake faults. We must prepare ourselves in many ways, including protecting schoolchildren and strengthening emergency responses."

The work under Senate Bill 2 began with a systematic, statewide assessment of critical emergency response buildings and public schools.

It is estimated that about 2,250 facilities qualified for the assessment statewide, led by K-12 education with 1,020 schools.

The Department of Geology and Mineral Industries assessed schools with a capacity of 250 or more persons that are regularly used for student activities.

They also made sure to assess 90% of enrolled public school students in every county and 100% of the vulnerable coastal community schools.

DOGAMI expects to release the results of the assessment in May, 2007.