Multnomah County Emergency Management Monthly Newsletter
January 2022
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 by the 20th of each month.

For COVID-19 information and updates, visit Multnomah County's COVID-19 website.
December 2021 Winter Weather Emergency Response
A volunteer placing a sleeping bag onto a pad on the floor of the Mount Scott Community Center emergency warming shelter
Setting up a severe weather shelter at Mt. Scott Community Center
On December 23, 2021, Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury and City of Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler declared a State of Emergency as the region braced for a prolonged stretch of freezing temperatures and snow. 

To prepare for the winter weather incident, Multnomah County and the City of Portland initiated a collaborative response, implementing lessons from the Severe Winter Weather in February 2021 and Heat Waves in Summer 2021.

Severe weather shelters opened December 25, with the final severe weather shelters closing the morning of January 2. Year-round and seasonal winter shelters remain open by reservation. Anyone seeking alternative shelter options and other social and health services should dial 2-1-1. More information about winter weather and shelters, along with tips and resources, can be found on Multnomah County’s Care for When It’s Cold webpage. 

Some numbers from the Dec. 2021 winter weather response:

  • Total nightly bed counts at severe weather shelters: 2,377
  • Meals provided to severe weather shelters in coordination with community partners: 6,022
  • Shelter shifts filled during the course of the winter weather incident: 1,587
  • Gear distributed by outreach teams between December 20 and January 1:
2,079 sleeping bags
2,646 tents
9,808 pairs of socks
3,400 Mylar thermal sleeping bags
1,846 hoodies
5,698 gloves
4,640 tarps
5,939 blankets
3,930 ponchos
7,277 hot hands
1,993 sweatpants
5,614 hats
Additionally, many more volunteers and community partners provided rides and filled shifts in logistics and ground transport, demobilization, staffing, planning and other roles. For more details, view the December 2021 Severe Weather Situation Reports.

Deepest thanks and appreciation to all the many staff, volunteers, and community partners who helped during this life-threatening event.
MultCo. Training & Exercise Mid-Year Update

The County Training and Exercise Program remained heavily influenced by Multnomah County's response to COVID-19 - either through direct individual involvement with pandemic-related operations, or re-engaging with routine county operations that may have been significantly reduced or set aside during the pandemic response. 

The following mid-year update provides an overview of the training and exercise that was able to be accomplished and discuss what we unfortunately missed out on. Upcoming training and exercise events are not included in this Mid-Year Update. Those can be found here in the MCEM Monthly Newsletter, or via outreach to the Training & Exercise Specialist.

The MCEM will be including a quarterly training and exercise program update moving forward.

Review the mid-year update here (link).
It's not too late to fill out our survey!

What natural hazards are you most concerned about? 

Do you have ideas for how to make those hazards less harmful in the future?

We’d like to hear your concerns and ideas. Your input will help us plan better for future earthquakes, floods, landslides, volcanoes, wildfires, and severe weather events. 

We are in the process of updating Multnomah County’s Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan. This plan is used to identify strategies to reduce the impact of future natural disasters. Read about the update and respond to the community survey. Please share the survey with others! The survey and information are also available in other languages.
ODOT Emergency Contact Registry

The 2021 Oregon Legislature, under House Bill 3125, created an emergency contact service for Oregon residents. As of January 3, Oregonians can register up to two people, age 18 and older, as emergency contacts. Only Oregon law enforcement personnel will be able to access the emergency contact information. They can do so securely through their patrol cars allowing them to contact family more quickly when a person is involved in a crash or other situation involving emergency responders. 

To register, visit DMV2U.Oregon.gov and sign in to "Access My DMV Profile." An Oregon driver license, permit or identification card is required to register with the service.
Upcoming Training & Exercises Events

Please review upcoming training opportunities through the following events calendars: Multnomah County, the Regional Disaster Preparedness Organization, the State of Oregon, and the State of Washington.

Trainings

  • Developing Emergency Operations Plans for K-12 Schools (January 25): This virtual training (via Zoom) will cover the six-step process for developing emergency operations plans (EOPs) for K-12 schools.
  • Intended audience: K-12 school employees responsible for developing EOPs, however the content would be helpful for anyone developing emergency plans, acknowledging the instructors will maintain an education space lens.
  • School Behavioral Threat Assessments - An Introduction Train-The-Educator (January 26): This dynamic and interactive virtual training is designed to help familiarize staff at schools and school districts with how school behavioral threat assessments can help in preventing and reducing targeted violence at K-12 schools.
  • Intended audience: K-12 school employees responsible for developing threat assessments.
  • ICS-300 (January 25-27): ICS-300 provides an in-depth focus on the NIMS (National Incident Management System) Incident Command System (ICS) that includes the tools, practices and procedures that are available in ICS to effectively manage emergency incidents or planned local events at a local Type 3 level.
  • Intended audience: individuals that will be performing in leadership roles during an emergency response activation.
  • ICS-400 (February 24-25): ICS-400 provides training and resources for responders who require advanced application of the ICS by providing overall incident management skills rather than tactical expertise. Expanding upon information covered in ICS-100 through ICS-300 courses, ICS-400 emphasizes large-scale organizational development, roles and relationships of the command and general staff, and planning, operational, logistical, and fiscal considerations related to large and complex incident and event management. Please email alice.busch@multco.us for registration.
  • Intended audience: individuals that will be performing in leadership roles during an emergency response activation.
  • All-Hazards Planning Section Chief (March 15-18): No registration is available at this time.
  • Intended audience: individuals that will be performing in the Planning Section Lead role during an emergency response activation.
  • All-Hazards Division/Group Supervisor Chief (March 29-31): No registration is available at this time.
  • Intended audience: individuals that will be performing in the ESF lead roles during an emergency response activation
  • All-Hazards Operations Section Chief (April 12-15): No registration is available at this time.
  • Intended audience: individuals that will be performing in the Planning Section Lead role during an emergency response activation.
  • All-Hazards Incident Commander (May 2-6): No registration is available at this time.
  • Intended audience: individuals that will be performing in the Incident Command role during an emergency response activation.
  • All-Hazards Logistics Section Chief (June 20-24): No registration is available at this time.
  • Intended audience: individuals that will be performing in the Logistics Section Lead role during an emergency response activation.

Exercises

  • Statewide Communications Exercise (January 26th): OEM and DAS are hosting a statewide radio communications exercise at the end of January. This exercise will focus on communications between the State and local governments. Currently information and guidance are being developed by OEM, additional information can be accessed through the MCEM Training & Exercise Specialist.
  • County Fuel Plan Seminar (January 31, 1300-1430): This Seminar event will introduce the Fuel Plan to our partners and provide an overview of our priorities, ODE priorities, Plan content, and priority projects.
  • Integrated Emergency Management Course (March 14-17): MCEM is hosting a FEMA IEMC event in March 2022 to bring together partners from around the County to prepare for the Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake hazard together. This event will include 16 hours of seminar and training, and 16 hours of exercise opportunities for us to build preparedness collectively. Invitations will be distributed in December.
  • Port of Portland Triennial (May 18): The Port is hosting their Triennial exercise in May of 2022 to practice a Family Reunification Center (FRC) in collaboration with regional partners. Please reach out to the MCEM Training & Exercise Specialist for additional information.
  • National Level Exercise (June 13-16): The FEMA NLE is coming to the Pacific Northwest in June 2022. This regional event will allow for regional partners and Federal Government partners to exercise the Cascadia Subduction Zone Earthquake scenario.
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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