Oregon Public Broadcasting

Oregon could see a huge deadly earthquake off the Coast, that could have serious repercussions well over a hundred miles inland. Emergency managers and health officials are working through an earthquake drill, even as other pressing issues demand their attention. Rob Manning reports.

Washington County emergency manager, Scott Porter is leading a daylong earthquake simulation today. Like many of the exercises over the last few days, Washington County is assuming a nine-point-zero quake hit, last Friday. Roads are mangled, phone lines are out - just for starters.

Scott Porter: “Water systems, sewer systems, the healthcare system - all of those will be severely disrupted. Food delivery, money, you name it, all those systems that rely on technology, or transportation, are going to be severely impacted, and we will be in a significant crisis.”

300 people from dozens of different agencies will join Porter to look at Washington County’s problems and available resources.

Similar efforts have already been tried - or have been underway - all over western Oregon, since the mock earthquake struck last week. And officials have prepared for months, says James Roddey with the state Department of Geology and Mineral Industries.

James Roddey: “It almost seems impossible, but in fact, there are going to be lots of people working on this.”

Given the magnitude of the damage, though, Roddey says officials are planning to get help from east of the Cascades - and farther off.

James Roddey: “Getting help from out of state is going to be another part of the exercise, where they look to states that aren’t affected by an event like this.”

Yet some key officials in Oregon are not taking part in this week’s drill. State emergency managers are busy tracking federal money for storm damage from last winter, and are just “monitoring” the quake drill. And state and county health officials are preoccupied with swine flu. Scott Porter, with Washington County, says not having his health advisors is a problem.

Scott Porter: “It does complicate it some. We will not as effectively address the healthcare part of what we wanted to talk about. that complicates things a little bit. But we will press ahead with a heckuva lot of other quality discussions, as well.”

Porter, and state officials, say they’ll have enough participation to move ahead on recovery plans, for when the Cascadia quake off the Coast, really does shake.