Oregon Still Isn’t Prepared For “The Big One,” A New Audit Warns

The Big One is coming, and Oregon is not prepared.

According to an Oregon Secretary of State audit released today, catastrophic disaster planning at local levels and statewide is catastrophically lacking.

The report cites a number of potential disasters that pose threats to Oregon—fires, floods, explosions, landslides, volcanic activity, disease—but points out that the looming 9.0 magnitude earthquake along the 700-mile Cascadia Subduction Zone will be the most destructive.

"This event is predicted to destroy transportation and fuel infrastructure across the Pacific Northwest," the audit reads, "cost Oregon more than $30 billion in direct and economic losses, and result in anywhere from 1,250 to more than 10,000 deaths."

There are four main areas, the report notes, in which the state is ill-prepared for the massive quake: mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery.

Oregon doesn't currently meet national emergency management program standards that require identifying tools for preparedness and response. Also, because of a lack of staff dedicated to disaster planning, the state could lose out on millions in federal grant funding for future emergencies.

The Office of Emergency Management is the state entity responsible for coordinating disaster planning, and according the audit, "OEM in particular is understaffed, despite repeated budget requests to the Legislature."

The audit adds that OEM needs to step up its public reporting and tracking in order to be held accountable on long-term preparedness projects and goals.

"There is no way to prevent [a catastrophic] event from happening," the report notes. "Yet with effective emergency management, government officials can take action in advance to minimize the damage."

The tracking of Oregon's emergency planning efforts is in part a response to the devastating hurricanes that swept through Puerto Rico and Texas in 2017, and most recently the 7.9 magnitude earthquake in Alaska that set off tsunami alarm signals on the Oregon coast.

The Governor's office has so far signed off on all but one of the audit's recommendations. However, Gov. Kate Brown has yet to officially approve the state's recovery plan.

Paying a Romanian wilderness survival expert $190 for a doomsday training course might not be the worst idea.