FEMA: Pacific Northwest Functional Exercise - Cascadia Rising 2016

Cascadia Rising 2016

The Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ) earthquake and tsunami is one of the most complex disaster scenarios that emergency management and public safety officials face in the Pacific Northwest.

Scientific evidence indicates that a magnitude 8.0-9.0 earthquake occurs along the 800-mile long CSZ fault on average once every 200 to 500 years. The last major earthquake and tsunami along the fault occurred over 300 years ago in 1700. Recent subduction zone earthquakes around the world underscore the catastrophic impacts we will face when the next CSZ earthquake and tsunami occurs in our region:

Recent Subduction Zone Earthquakes

• Indonesia (2004): M9.1 --- 228,000 fatalities
• Chile (2010): M8.8 --- 500 fatalities
• Japan (2011): M9.0 --- 18,000 fatalities

Conducting successful life-saving and life-sustaining response operations in the aftermath of a Cascadia Subduction Zone disaster will hinge on the effective coordination and integration of governments at all levels – cities, counties, state agencies, federal officials, the military, tribal nations – as well as non-government organizations and the private sector.  One of the primary goals of Cascadia Rising is to train and test this whole community approach to complex disaster operations together as a joint team.

The culminating event will be a four-day functional exercise to occur June 7-10, 2016. Emergency Operations and Coordination Centers (EOC/ECCs) at all levels of government and the private sector will activate to coordinate simulated field response operations both within their jurisdictions and also with neighboring communities, state EOCs, FEMA, and major military commands.

Above Last Updated: 03/29/2016 - 21:38

Update 04/01/2016  The hashtags we will use for the overall campaign will be #CascadiaEQ to discuss the subduction zone and preparedness, and when it comes to the exercise, we will use #CascadiaRising.

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