September is National Preparedness Month and a series of emergency response events has been taking place across the state. Tomorrow (Tuesday) congressman Peter DeFazio will host an earthquake early warning roundtable at the U of O.
As the ranking member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Congressman DeFazio introduced a federal bill to fund an earthquake early warning system for the west coast. The roundtable is an official committee hearing. Scott Ashford, Dean of Engineering at OSU, studies the effects to utilities and services in an emergency:
Ashford: “I think that Representative DeFazio is really a leader in raising the awareness of the threat the Cascadia Subduction zone plays not only with the state of Oregon but the nation. This is potentially the largest natural disaster facing the country.”
Representatives from FEMA, ODOT, and other university experts will participate. The public is invited to attend and ask questions after the talk. It takes place at the HEDCO building on the U of O campus in Eugene at 10:30 a.m.
