Tagged: Disasters and Accidents

The shootings at a Connecticut elementary school have top Oregon officials taking stock of school policies and procedures. The head of Oregon’s Department of Education, Rob Saxton, says he's reviewing safety with school districts. In ordering flags in Oregon to half-staff, Gov. John Kitzhaber said he supports “the President’s call for meaningful action, regardless of politics.”

For years, emergency managers have urged people to stockpile enough food, water and supplies to last 72 hours after a disaster. In the Northwest, basic assumptions like that are now under scrutiny, especially when it comes to the risk from a big earthquake. Two committees in Oregon and Washington have been working for more than a year to come up with wide-ranging recommendations to improve the region's disaster resilience.

If you watched some of last month's coverage of Superstorm Sandy, you probably saw rescues of people who refused to evacuate. Many stayed behind, despite the danger, to be with their pets. Emergency shelters for people usually don't let you bring your house pets or livestock along. The same issue cropped up here during wildfire season last summer. And correspondent Tom Banse reports it could loom over the next flood or earthquake.

Thursday, Oregon, Washington, and Idaho joined their Western neighbors for an earthquake drill of unprecedented scale. Some of the record participation was due to businesses joining in the drill. In our area, among those practicing were architects, utilities and banks.

Numerology and disaster preparedness come together Thursday morning on a big scale. At 10:18 on 10/18, eight Western states along with British Columbia and other places are coordinating on an earthquake and tsunami drill. Nearly a million people are signed up to participate in the Northwest.