Cascadia rising Archives - Northwest Public Broadcasting

Are You ‘Two Weeks Ready’ For Post-Quake Survival? WA And OR Say You Should Be

By Tom Banse September 9, 2021

State emergency management websites have tips for what to include in your emergency kit. CREDIT: KUOW PHOTO/KJERSTIN WOOD

The state of Oregon has set an ambitious goal to prepare more families in earthquake country to be "two weeks ready" after a disaster. Washington's emergency management agency is also seeking more funding to prepare people in a similar way. Read More

Cascadia High-Speed Rail: Will It Finally Happen Or Is It ‘Time To Kill This Thing’?

By Tom Banse December 8, 2020

Acela II passes through Halethorpe, MD on its way to Washington DC for the first Amtrak has full rights to this image. New Acela 21 in Testing

A new government report on high speed rail in the Pacific Northwest recommends that Oregon, Washington and British Columbia formalize their interest in a Cascadia bullet train by creating an independent body to plan and eventually build it. But a critic associated with a conservative think tank responded that the region should take heed of California's high speed rail woes Read More

Emergency Managers Stress Need For Earthquake Preparation East Of Cascades

By Cameron Sheppard October 15, 2019

Road damage due to liquefaction from the 2001 Nisqually Earthquake in Thurston County, Washington. Liquefaction is when the soil turns to jello during intense shaking.

Emergency managers say a lot of the burden for eastern Washington and Inland Northwest communities will come from having to help house and provide services for people who will be displaced from western Washington following the aftermath of a potential large-scale earthquake. Read More

Practice Drill For ‘The Big One’ Earthquake With NWPB

By Sueann Ramella October 13, 2019

The Earthquake Preparedness Roadshow will start in Walla Walla on Sept. 29 with stops during the week in Pullman, Spokane, Grant County, Toppenish and Richland.Read More

Northwest’s Ancient Earthquakes May Help Predict Future Risk

By Tom Banse September 5, 2018

Washington's Sadie Creek Fault is a strand of the Lake Creek-Boundary Creek Fault zone. CREDIT: DAN COE/WASHINGTON DNR

One way to predict the risk of earthquakes in the Pacific Northwest is to look at how often they occurred in the past – and, for several groups of geologists, delving into the fault lines themselves. The evidence lies in trenches the scientists cut across fault lines in northwest Oregon and on the north Olympic Peninsula.Read More

Have You Planned For Number Two After ‘The Big One’?

By Tom Banse August 29, 2018

Sue Mohnkern of Washington County Public Health (Oregon) spearheaded the Emergency Toilet Project. CREDIT: TOM BANSE

It's not something we typically discuss in polite company, but disaster planners say that when water and sewage service fails, finding a place to poop is a big deal.Read More

British Columbia Helps Fund Portland-Seattle-Vancouver Bullet Train Feasibility Study

By Tom Banse March 16, 2018

The province of British Columbia will support and has agreed to contribute money to further study of bullet train service from Portland to Seattle to Vancouver. British Columbia Premier John Horgan spoke approvingly of the possible high speed train at a joint appearance with visiting Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on Friday, March 16. Read More

Tsunami Zone Update Gets Pushback From Oregon Coast Legislators

By Tom Banse July 31, 2017

When a massive tsunami hit the northeast coast of Japan in 2011, waves of water overtopped sea walls, swallowed buildings and surged higher than anticipated. One thing those images prompted was […]Read More

Northwest States Write Up Wake Up Call For ‘The Big One’

By Tom Banse March 23, 2017

The Cascadia Subduction Zone off the coast of North America can produce earthquakes as large as Magnitude 9 and corresponding tsunamis. MUSTAFA LAZKANI / FEMA

The report cards are in and it’s not pretty if you worry about how you’ll fare after a magnitude 9 Cascadia megaquake and tsunami. Washington and Oregon’s emergency management divisions […]Read More