Multnomah County Emergency Management Monthly Newsletter
August 2022
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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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Help us plan for children and youth in disasters!
Multnomah County Emergency Management partners with
Clackamas County Disaster Management to develop a disaster plan
that focuses on the specific needs of children and youth.
Funded by a 2019 State Homeland Security Program grant, this was one of many projects put on pause during the COVID-19 activation. We were delighted to reboot this project in early 2022. Now strongly underway, this summer we're seeking input from youth groups, service-providers for children and youth ages infant through 25, and emergency managers.
Through this project we will identifying:
- best practices and guidance for what children and youth need before, during and after a disaster event, and
- existing resources to meet those needs
Invitations
We want to learn from you! We are hosting three virtual focus groups in August and September, and a training course.
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Youth Focus Group and Survey
Date: Thursday, August 25, 2022
Time: 2:00 - 3:00
Who: Youth ages 13 to 25
Registration: Youth click here to sign up.
Please forward the flier to youth groups, ages 13 to 25. The focus group and survey are for youth only.
Service Provider Focus Group
Date: Monday, September 19, 2022
Time: 10:00 - 12:00
Who: Service providers for children or youth between the ages of infant to 25.
Registration: Click here to sign up.
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Emergency Manager Focus Group
Date: Monday, September 26, 2022
Time: 10:00 - 12:00
Who: Emergency managers who have a role in serving children or youth ages infant to 25.
Registration: Click here to sign up.
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Training: TEEX MGT 439: Pediatric Disaster Response and Emergency Preparedness
This is a 2-day course on how your organization can plan for children and youth in disasters. This course is being held in the Portland area twice.
McMinnville
Dates: Tuesday August 9, 2022 and Wednesday August 10, 2022
Registration: A few seats are still available. Click here to register.
Oregon City
Dates: Thursday, August 11, 2022 and Friday, August 12, 2022
We need your help recruiting the widest range of perspectives and voices. Please share these invitations with your networks.
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Cooling off in the East Portland Community Center cooling center during the July heatwave. |
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July 2022 Excessive Heat Response
On Monday, July 25, the National Weather Service issued an excessive heat warning for Multnomah County. The warning remained continuously in effect through Sunday, July 31, as the heatwave intensified beyond initial forecasts. Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury and Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler issued emergency declarations.
The end-of-July heatwave marked the longest stretch of extreme heat ever recorded in the Portland area – with temperatures at Portland International Airport reaching or exceeding 95 degrees for a record-setting seven consecutive days.
Multnomah County and the City of Portland worked together with community partners to support six days and five nights of 24-hour cooling shelters, the longest span in their history. They also offered day spaces, misting and bottle-filling stations, transportation to cooling spaces, and street outreach survival supplies. City and County communications teams provided response updates, safety tips, and targeted, urgent information in multiple languages.
This year’s shared work sprang from strategies the County and City identified in the wake of last year’s heat dome and then tested during lesser bouts of heat last July and August. In the aftermath of this year’s heatwave, the City of Portland and Multnomah County will continue working together to conduct an after-action report, supported by a third-party contractor already on board, so they can identify and incorporate additional improvements into future responses.
The Multnomah County Medical Examiner’s Program reported seven possible hyperthermia deaths. Investigators say confirmation of the cause of death will not be complete for several weeks to months.
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July Logistics Cadre Meeting
On July 20th, County EOC Logistics Section Cadre met in a hybrid environment to take a tour of the warehouse space, train on the day-to-day and shelter resource request process, and review the expected Section positions during summer weather activations.
This was the 3rd Cadre meeting of 2022, with 30 individuals attending both in-person and virtually. These meetings are anticipated to occur every other month to provide Section-specific updates, conduct position-based training, address areas for improvement within the section, and engage cadre members in open dialogue.
The next meeting will be in September, that date will be shared in the September newsletter with the DRAFT agenda included.
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Upcoming Training & Exercises Events
Trainings
Exercises
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Rapid Damage Assessment Exercise - Workshop Event (August 9): The Rapid Damage Assessment (RDA) Exercise Series will kick-off on Tuesday, August 9th from 1300-1500. This RDA-The First Look-Development Workshop event is open to any organizations interested in developing their RDA capabilities, operations, and program. Please reach out to Matt Burke (matthew.burke@multco.us) with any questions!
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Rapid Damage Assessment Exercise - Tabletop Exercise Event (August 31): The RDA-The First Look-Validation Tabletop Exercise is the second event in the 2022 Exercise Series. This event will validate the processes and procedures developed during the August 9 workshop event and/or developed separately. This three hour event will focus on Multnomah County operations, but will integrate partner RDA processes/expectations submitting data to the County. Please reach out to Matt Burke (matthew.burke@multco.us) with any questions!
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Regional Fuel Management Tabletop (September 22): This regional exercise hosted by the Regional Disaster Preparedness Organization (RDPO) will test fuel management operations during a west hill fault earthquake event. Additional information will be shared when it becomes available. Reach out to Robert Quinn (robert.quinn@multco.us) for additional information.
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1Q23 Quarterly Radio Drill (September 13): The next MCEM Quarterly Radio Drill will be on Tuesday, September 13 at 1000. Interested in participating? Reach out to Robert (robert.quinn@multco.us)!
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ORWARN/CISA FREE Cyber Tabletop Exercise (August 16): Join ORWARN/CISA for a Cyber Tabletop Exercise that will improve stakeholders' knowledge, plans, processes, procedures, and capabilities regarding a cyber incident. The exercise scenario will be a threat actor that uses a compromised vendor to steal sensitive business data, disrupt water/wastewater systems, and impact the organization's billing processes.
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Virtual Earthquake Resilience Workshop (October 13): The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is hosting a workshop open to representatives from water and wastewater utilities across Oregon, Washington and Northern California, as well as local, state and federal agencies and organizations involved in earthquake preparedness efforts in their community.
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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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