Bend, Ore. – A 9.0 magnitude earthquake along the Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ) and the resulting tsunami is the most complex disaster scenario that emergency management and public safety officials in the Pacific Northwest could face.
This week, a four-day exercise called Cascadia Rising 2016 will test emergency agencies’ ability to respond to such a disaster. All four of St. Charles Health System’s hospitals will participate.
“St. Charles Health System will be expected to play a major role in the statewide response to this catastrophic event,” said Ken Quiner, emergency management coordinator. “Our capabilities and resiliency will depend primarily on the personal readiness of each and every caregiver.”
As part of the exercise, emergency operation and emergency coordination centers at all levels of government and the private sector will conduct a simulated field response operation within their jurisdictions and with neighboring communities, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and major military commands.
The functional exercise starts across the Pacific Northwest at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, June 7, with a simulated transmission from the U.S. Geological Survey to local emergency operation centers. Those emergency operation centers will in turn notify all other participants that a simulated earthquake has occurred.
Even though the exercise will officially begin on Tuesday, June 7, Central Oregon counties and St. Charles Health System will not begin full participation in the functional portion of Cascadia Rising until Thursday, June 9, at 8 a.m.; the exercise will conclude at 5 p.m. St. Charles leadership and managers will be expected to participate in various aspects of the exercise, but the intent is that it will not impact patient care.
