Multnomah County Emergency Management Monthly Newsletter
March 2023
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Multnomah County Office of Emergency Management (MCEM) compiles this monthly email to provide information related to emergency management activities. If you have content for this newsletter, please submit to em.dutyofficer@multco.us.
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Mass Care Model Seminar Held
On Friday, March 3, MCEM hosted the Mass Care Model Seminar to educate local partners on the existing model developed over the past seven years. We apologize that this event was unable to be recorded; however, these notes were taken during the presentation. The 90-minute workshop included:
- Overview of catastrophic mass shelter planning efforts,
- The current all-hazards shelter capabilities,
- Associated plans within the Mass Care topic, and
- Overview of the 2023 Catastrophic Mass Care Series.
This was the first event in a 4-part series in 2023, including:
- Seminar/Education Event (March 3) Open Participation
- Regional Catastrophic Mass Care Workshop #1 (March 7) Limited Participation
- Regional Catastrophic Mass Care Workshop #2 (May 2) Limited Participation
- Mass Care Discussion-Based Exercise Day (June 13) Open Participation
While the regional events are limited participation, notes and findings from these events will be shared widely. Find the slides from this Seminar on the MCEM Training & Exercise Page: "Exercise Opportunity Information, Resources, & Assistance Needs." Review slides 3-8 to learn more about the 2023 Exercise Series, and slides 10-41 to learn more about the Mass Care Model. Questions? Reach out to robert.quinn@multco.us. |
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Social Vulnerability Tools Project: Data for Community Use
Metro recently completed the Social Vulnerability Tools (SVT) project, funded by the Regional Disaster Preparedness Organization, to identify which communities in the region experience barriers to emergency services and programs before, during, and after disasters.
There will be two training opportunities for community-based organizations, researchers, and the public to learn about the data, methods, and general findings and use cases of the social vulnerability indices developed as part of the SVT project. A demonstration will be provided for using the online tool developed as part of the project. The trainings will be on March 8 and March 15, from 11am-12pm. If interested in attending one of them, please reach out to joe.gordon@oregonmetro.gov. |
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February 2023 Winter Weather Activation
Nearly 850 people sought shelter across seven shelter sites at some point on Friday, Feb. 24, as the region pushed through four nights of inclement weather that began Wednesday, Feb. 22, with surprise record snowfall that shattered an 80-year record. More than 740 people received free transportation to a shelter that night, not including anyone who took TriMet.
This response saw the second largest count of shelter guests in a single night, only trailing the December 2022 extreme cold event. The County and City and 211info received the most requests for transportation to a warming center than any other previous severe weather event. (Total shelter use by night: Wednesday: 320 people; Thursday: 656 people; Friday: 849 people; Saturday: 492 people.)
At the onset of the storm, Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson and Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler declared and eventually added to their initial states of emergency. With a potential for more inclement weather during the following week, Oregon Governor Tina Kotek also issued a state of emergency for Multnomah County Saturday.
Staff, community partners and volunteers stepped in as demand for warm spaces continued to grow. In total, 85 community members took shifts supporting shelter operations, including Portland’s Neighborhood Emergency Team volunteers and the County’s Medical Reserve Corps volunteers. More than two-dozen state employees also participated. The community’s combined work, alongside service providers and more than 300 County and City employees, helped save lives during this prolonged weather event.
Multnomah County and City of Portland officials — in consultation with officials from Emergency Management, the Health Department, County Human Services, the Joint Office of Homeless Services, and the National Weather Service — jointly closed severe weather warming shelters Sunday, Feb. 26, as temperatures warmed in the metro area.
Severe weather warming shelters are just one part of a continuum of work to protect people during cold weather. On nights when temps reach below freezing but do not otherwise meet severe weather thresholds, the Joint Office declares a “cold weather advisory.” That activates additional overflow shelter beds throughout our system, as well as more intensive street outreach efforts to reach people with gear.
As our community continues to face severe weather events, we may again ask for volunteer help to keep our warming shelters open. Volunteers are encouraged to sign up for a 2-hour online training before their shift, if possible. Information about these trainings and signing up to volunteer will be posted on the County’s Care for When It’s Cold page when opportunities become available.
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A reporter from OregonLive spent six hours at one of the warming shelters during the late-February winter weather response.
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Hazelle Lerum (she/her) has joined the Logistics Division as a Community Resource Request Coordinator.
Hazelle initially joined the County as a COVID-19 case investigator at the height of the 2020 winter surge, later serving as an outbreaks investigator in vulnerable congregate settings such as adult care homes, skilled nursing facilities, I/DD group homes, shelters, and beyond. She also has experience working on Multnomah County's Oregon Emergency Rental Assistance Program (OERAP) team, helping to connect hundreds of community members to rent assistance funds to avoid eviction during the pandemic. Hazelle has a Bachelors of Science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in upstate New York.
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Andrew, Hazelle, and Kupp |
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Logistics Chief Gail's car got buried under the snow behind our warehouse during the late-February snow storm. A full week later, we were finally able to dig out her car! |
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Upcoming Training and Exercise Events
Training Offerings
- No local training offerings anticipated at this time.
Exercise Events
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Catastrophic Mass Care Series - Event 1 of 2 (March 7): Multnomah County is participating with our regional partners to further develop our collective capabilities for providing mass care and shelter services following a catastrophic event. This exercise series will include two events: the first a 4-hour workshop and the second a full-day workshop and tabletop event. Multnomah County anticipates building off this exercise series during the June 2023 Full-Scale Exercise event. For questions about this series please reach out to robert.quinn@multco.us.
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3Q23 Quarterly VHF Radio Drill (March 14): This quarterly drill will test communication capabilities for internal County and external response partners via VHF radio systems. Drill conduct can be found in the Standard Operating Procedure. For questions about this drill please reach out to robert.quinn@multco.us.
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Controlling the Burn 2023 Wildfire Workshop Event (March 16): This workshop event will bring together Multnomah County and our east county partners to prepared for a wildfire scenario. This workshop will focus on operational coordination, specifically how an organizational structure will be set up and how to perform evacuation operations in that area. The Mid-Term Planning Meeting (MPM) is scheduled for Thursday, February 23. For questions about this workshop please reach out to robert.quinn@multco.us.
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Cascadia FE'23 Mid-Term Planning Meeting (March 29): The MPM is a continuation of the development phase. This meeting is primarily focused on scenario development and serves as a check-in for exercise product development. For questions about this meeting please reach out to robert.quinn@multco.us.
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Fuel Advisory Committee Workshop (March 30): This workshop will further develop the expectations and actions of the Fuel Advisory Committee (FAC) - an element of the ESF #12-Fuel Group that would make recommendations to the County EOC following an impact to local fuel resources. Identified in the 2022 Fuel Management Plan, this will likely be the first of two workshops with FAC members. For questions about this meeting please reach out to robert.quinn@multco.us.
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Fuel Dispatch Center Workshop (April 6): The Fuel Dispatch Center supports Fuel Points of Distribution (FPODs) during impacts to local fuel resources by tracking current fuel resources and accepting resource requests from FPODs. This workshop event will develop the expectations, organizational structure, and resources/tools for this ESF #12-Fuel Group element. For questions about this meeting please reach out to robert.quinn@multco.us.
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Have something you'd like to include in one of our future newsletters? We'd love to hear from you! To have your upcoming trainings, exercises, events, or other announcements added, please email em.dutyofficer@multco.us.
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