May 20, 2016

UW involvement in Cascadia Rising

In just a few weeks, the region will be pretending that the Cascadia Fault (also called the Cascadia Subduction Zone) has ripped. Remember that New York Times article that got everyone talking? The one that talked about what the Greater Seattle Area might look like after “The Really Big One” hits. Hint: The really big one is the Cascadia Subduction Zone.

During the first full week of June, from British Columbia to northern California, emergency management departments at all levels of government, first responders, non-profits, and private industry alike will be involved in an exercise, dubbed Cascadia Rising, that simulates that very event.

UW Emergency Management, specifically, will be participating in a variety of ways.

June 7th: UWEM will be conducting a field-exercise to practice communication and coordination between the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in UW Tower and the university’s two post-earthquake teams trained to investigate building safety after an earthquake. The ATC-20 Team is managed out of the Campus Engineering Department and focuses on structural integrity of buildings post-earthquake, while the Pre-Entry Assessment Team (PEAT) is managed out of Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) and focus entirely on potential HAZMAT concerns.

June 8th and 9th: UW Emergency Management Staff will be observing and assisting in the active EOCs of our regional partners, including City of Seattle, Cities of Mercer Island and Renton, and King County.