In September 2020, more than 500,000 Oregonians were under evacuation orders simultaneously. Entire communities had less than 30 minutes to leave. In some cases, the warning and the fire arrived at nearly the same time. Pacific Northwest wildfires have changed. The fires of the past decade are larger, faster, and less predictable than what this […]
The last time the Cascadia Subduction Zone produced a full-margin rupture, in January 1700, the resulting tsunami struck the Oregon and Washington coasts within minutes. The shaking stopped and the ocean followed — not as a single wave, but as a series of surges over several hours, each capable of reaching miles inland. That event
The question people often ask about emergencies is “what do I need to have?” The more important question is “what do I need to decide?” And no decision matters more, in the early minutes of an emergency, than whether to stay or go. Both choices can be right. Both choices can be catastrophically wrong. The
