Tag: Jay Wilson Hazard Mitigation Coordinator for Clackamas County Emergency Management

It’s Not If. . . Its When! Will Oregon be Ready for the Megaquake?

Posted on by Julia Havens

A magnitude 9.0 earthquake off the Northwest coast could hit at any time along the Oregon Coast. How can we prepare for this impending and unpredictable disaster?

Three times in three years Jay Wilson has returned to Kadonowaki, Japan. Each time, the weeds are a little bit taller, the concrete foundations are a little more weathered.

On March 11, 2011, a tsunami scraped a vast swath of this town from the earth. Homes and businesses were reduced to rubble. A rebuilt paper mill is among the few structures resurrected here after the disaster.

As Wilson surveys the landscape, it’s hard to know whether he’s more rattled by this tsunami that has happened, or the tsunami that will happen — in Oregon.

Oregon faces the threat of an earthquake every bit as large as the one that struck Japan. Are there lessons we can learn from Japan’s experience? Can we prepare for something so destructive? [learn more]

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Making Sure the Conversation Goes Beyond the Message of Preparedness

Posted on by Julia Havens

Let’s bring some context to the media attention right now on earthquakes.

As we all know, we go through earthquake cycles every few years when a string of earthquake events, larger ones far away and a few small events nearby, generate a media buzz and a few token conversations about having an emergency kit or a plan.

But, we (as in “us”) need to make sure that the conversation goes beyond the message of preparedness to the next level of striving for resilience, for a community to be able to get back on line more quickly and actually recover to a better state than before.

“We need to foster opportunities to elevate the cause for disaster resilience when we have the chance to speak publically and emphasize how connected we all are in sharing this responsibility.” said Jay Wilson, Hazard Mitigation Coordinator for Clackamas County Emergency Management.

Below Jay highlighted two-related New York Times posts as an example of media that goes beyond only touching the surface and asks more probing questions about investments in seismic safety and the legacy of complacency.

Promises of Preparedness Followed Devastating Earthquakes. And Yet  >>>
(with Retro Report video link)

Another Warning for the Northwest From Chile’s Earthquake Hot Zone  >>>

Jay Wilson, Hazard Mitigation Coordinator for Clackamas County Emergency Management and Chair, Oregon Seismic Safety Policy Advisory Commission (OSSPAC). Jay’s duties include managing hazard mitigation projects and planning, public education, and coordinating damage assessments following disasters.