City Participates in Statewide Exercise for Earthquake Readiness

The Portland Bureau of Emergency Management(PBEM) partnered with agencies from across the city and region to prepare for IronOR 24, a statewide, multi-day emergency exercise. This exercise is designed to test Oregon's capabilities and readiness in responding to a catastrophic Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ) earthquake.

IronOR 24's planning process, which spanned more than 12 months, included a comprehensive review of City priorities and goals.

The exercise included participation from 12 City bureaus, four additional City teams, Multnomah County Amateur Radio Emergency Service, and Portland Neighborhood Emergency Teams. The City of Portland practiced responding with Multnomah County and the City of Gresham, and integrated with the State of Oregon's Department of Emergency Management.

Neighborhood Emergency Team (NET) volunteers representing 53 neighborhoods logged an estimated 176 volunteer hours for the exercise. NETs participated by providing critical citywide damage assessments, submitting more than 600 reports to the Emergency Operations Center that were incorporated into planning and response efforts. The NETs also deployed in the cold and rain for a three-hour nighttime Citywide Deployment Exercise. They practiced operational coordination and organization skills, search and rescue skills, and HAM radio communications skills in coordination with the Multnomah County Amateur Emergency Radio Service team.

"This exercise is not just about preparing for an earthquake. It's also about improving our ability to respond to any emergency as an integrated regional team all the way to the State and Federal level," said PBEM's Amanda Westervelt, Iron OR '24 Exercise Coordinator for the City of Portland.

We each play a vital role in ensuring that our community is prepared. Find more resources at PublicAlerts.org.

More photos from the exercise: