Committee focus: Educate ourselves and the TDA community on resilience for emergency survival. Establish continuous communications to raise awareness and promote actionable steps to improve survival chances during a catastrophe.

Committee members:

• Trudy Bowling, slip #350, trudy.bowling@gmail.com
• Joan Flora, Chair, slip #130, jflora1204@gmail.com
• Judy Goehler, slip #356, jmgoehler@gmail.com

Portland is located in a seismically active region, with the Cascadia Subduction Zone posing a significant earthquake threat. A major earthquake in this zone could have severe impacts on infrastructure, including bridges. Many bridges in Portland were built before modern seismic standards were established. Older bridges may be more vulnerable to collapse during a major earthquake unless they have been retrofitted. Emergency response to our homes will likely be delayed, possibly for weeks.

Top five things you can take action on now:

1. Store drinking water (1 gallon per person per day for at least 2 weeks).
2. Have at least 2 weeks of dehydrated/canned food stored.
3. Buy or assemble a go bag/ditch bag (Red Cross recommendations).
4. Buy or assemble a first aid kit.
5. Know where to access the nearest dock ladder, water hose with a nozzle, and fire extinguisher.

Key information to support you during an emergency:

• EPIC Brochure: Emergency Preparedness
• TDA’s Automated External Defibrillator (AED)
• Early Alert Systems You Can Subscribe to
• What do you need in a go-bag?
• Personalized Safety Plan (EPIC recommends you share your information with family members and attach the form to your refrigerator in case your neighbors need to contact your family on your behalf)
• Gas valve turn-off instructions (illustrated)
• Fire Safety Strategies
  • Hose/Nozzle Guidelines: fire suppression
• Life Jackets are Available! (Oregon law requires life jackets for children 12 and under)
• Water Safety, compiled by Steven Bustin
• Winterization Strategies
• NARCAN Training and Availability
• Join Portland’s Neighborhood Emergency Team
• Why bother preparing for an emergency that may never happen?
• PCC offers certification in AED CPR. It’s $159, but adults over 62 get classes for 1/2 price: https://www.pcc.edu/schedule/spring/hah/ceu3312/

Other Resources:

• The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes — and Why (revised 2024 edition), Amanda Ripley. Case studies of how people who respond responsibly during disasters survive. Available from Multnomah County Library and Powells.
• A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities That Arise in Disaster, by Rebecca Solnit. This excellent book documents the fact that after disasters people generally behave cooperatively, not criminally. Available from Multnomah County Library and Powells.

If you have a safety/emergency preparedness concern not mentioned on this site, please let us know so we can share your concern(s) with the Board.