AccuWeather.com - Weather News | New Western Storm Will Be Disruptive

Storm hits the West Coast first, then the Plains later on. Henry discusses severe weather.
A storm set to begin quietly as some rain from coastal areas of northern California to British Columbia Monday will become stronger, colder and more disruptive with time as it pushes inland and spreads over much of the West this week.


AccuWeather.com - Weather News | New Western Storm Will Be Disruptive

Interviewed in the Statesman Journal!

On Monday, April 5th, I had an interview for the Statesmen Journal published on page 6C. The interview is about how OEM tries to educate the public on being prepared for emergencies.

An excerpt from the interview:

Q: Is it difficult to straddle the line between urging people to plan intelligently and scaring people?

A: It is difficult. I talk to schools and some parents have said, "We don't want you to talk to our kids because you're going to scare them." But if you think about it, how long did it take the fire department to get fire drills in school? How many fire drills do you have in a school during the year, and nobody thinks anything about it. It doesn't scare the kids. I've got to get there with emergency kits.

http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=20104050311

I want to put the question to you, my readers. What kind of message do you think would be effective in communicating the importance of preparation to the public without scaring them? How can we get people thinking about disaster preparation in a meaningful way?

If you have a good idea, email it to me at jbailey@oem.state.or.us and I will present those ideas here on the blog.

STUDDED TIRE SEASON EXTENDED THROUGH APRIL 17

Posted: April 8th, 2010 2:11 PM

ODOT extended the studded tire season a second time through Saturday, April 17. Weather forecasts call for continued difficult driving conditions in some snow zones until early next week. Motorists should have studded tires removed from their vehicles by 12:01 a.m., Sunday, April 18. ODOT encourages drivers to not wait until the deadline if they are not driving in snowy conditions.

For more information, contact: TripCheck.com, 5-1-1, or 800-977-6368

### www.oregon.gov/OSP ###

The Oregon Civil Air Patrol will be holding a major Disaster Relief Exercise on April 17th and 18th

The Oregon Civil Air Patrol will be holding a major Disaster Relief Exercise on April 17th and 18th, which will coincide with National Earthquake Prepardness Month. lt will create an environment that is as close as possible to that of a real statewide disaster involving an Earth Quake event along the Cascadia Subduction Zone off the coast of Oregon. Every attempt is being made to insure that all participants will be faced with realistic requests and taskings.

The Oregon CAP will be working closely with other state agencies and will involve approximately 100 personnel and 7 specially equipped search aircraft including a Cessna C-182 which is
equipped with a Power Sonic airborne PA system used for Tsunami warnings. This same
aircraft and system played an important role during the recent search for 4 year old Zoey
Dorsey early last month. The system is being credited as being instrumental in assisting
in the successful life saving search effort due to it's ability to broadcast a high quality, easily
heard recorded message from Zoey's grandmother, encouraging her to hold on and to help
let ground searchers know where she was. Demo video @ http://www.showoffmedia.biz/cap.html

The major focus of the simulated environment will create an expected possible real world situation in which the Northern part of the state has received limited damage from the event while the Southern coastal area will have received massive damage to its infrastructure. In a situation like this, CAP would establish a functional Incident Command Post at it's Aurora Airport facility located on the Willamette Aviation campus at the North end of the airport, where it has a pre-established working infrastructure and contact with the Oregon Joint Operations Center in Salem. The CAP scenario will further simulate that the CAP's Medford Airport operations center facility is usable but is lacking any infrastructure such as electricity, telephone, cell phone, or internet. In this case, the Medford CAP facility will be designated as a remote staging area using generators for power and radio communications to interact with the Aurora ICP.

To facilitate emergency communications, the CAP will be working closely with the Navy-Marine Corps Military Auxiliary Radio System,( MARS), in addition to CAP's regular radio communications network. The MARS system has the capability to send radio based telecommunications, email, documents and photos across the nation using secure radio network frequencies.

The media is invited to attend the exercise, both in Portland and Medford, to gain an understanding of the potential impact of such a major event and how volunteer agencies, such as the CAP which is an auxiliary of the United States Air Force, will work closely with various local and state agencies to respond to such major incidents.

Advance notification of media intent to attend would be appreciated.
Please email intent to attend to Thomas Traver tomt@theppigroup.com

Official government geological studies support the prediction that such a major event will occur, but no clear time table is presently available.

Red Cross says "Are you Ready?"

In January, there was an earthquake in Haiti. In February, an earthquake in Chile. In March, a swarm of quakes in Southern California. And as the temblors get closer to home, you might be wondering, "Just when will an earthquake strike Oregon…and will I be ready?"

www.oregonredcross.org/earthquakes

April is Earthquake Preparedness Month, the perfect time to plan for when "the big one" hits our area. And we know it will. There have been about 40 documented great earthquakes along the Cascadia Subduction Zone and we're already overdue for the next one.

A small investment of time and money can save lives in a disaster. This month, make it a priority to get a kit, make a plan and be informed about the natural disasters that can strike our state.

www.oregonredcross.org/earthquakes

To help you get prepared, use code EARTHQUAKE for a 20 percent discount on the five featured items at the link above. Starting at just $12, there's no reason not to be ready for anything.

Governor Declares April to be Earthquake and Tsunami Awareness Month

April is Earthquake and Tsunami Awareness month! DOGAMI is working with the governor to spread awareness on the dangers of earthquakes and tsunamis, and to try and teach what is necessary to increase your chances of surviving such a natural disaster.

An excerpt from the full-color PDF press release:

Have you practiced your drop, cover, and hold drill lately? Do you know what to do at the coast if the ground starts to shake?

Portland, Oregon: Governor Ted Kulongoski has proclaimed April to be Earthquake and Tsunami Awareness Month, saying in the proclamation that Oregon has taken many steps during the past two decades to help make the citizens of the state safer from future earthquakes (see attached proclamation).

http://www.oregongeology.org/pubs/nr/press-release-2010-03-31.pdf

Further information can be found on the DOGAMI websites, including emergency preparedness information, available training, and tsunami evacuation maps.

http://www.oregon.gov/DOGAMI/