The Oregon Office of Emergency Management (OEM) condu cted a functional exercise Feb. 12 at the OEM Emergency Coordination Center (ECC) in Salem. The statewide exercise was designed to test specific response capabilities during a declaration for 26 Counties and 2 Tribal nations simulating a Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake and resultant tsunami. Participants included Department of Human Services, Department of Corrections, Oregon State Fire Marshall, Oregon Department of Forestry, Oregon State Marine Board, Oregon Health Authority, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, Oregon Military Department, and a Department of Homeland Security-Protective Security Advisor. The exercise is in preparation for Cascadia Rising 2016, a major functional exercise scheduled for June 2016 involving multiple county, state and tribal nations in Oregon as well as the state of Washington, FEMA region X, along with a variety of military and other partners to improve regional response capabilities during a Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake and tsunami. “Today we are testing several of our core capabilities for emergency management, including communications, coordination and situational awareness,” said Kelly Jo Craigmiles, ECC Manager. “This is critical for ensuring that public safety response agencies can work closely with city, county, state and tribal emergency managers to deliver the best possible services.” Exercises ensure OEM can support trained responders who know how to deliver services during large incident response, added Craigmiles.
