Multnomah County Emergency Management Monthly Newsletter
January 2023
|
|
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.
|
|
MCEM Director's Statement
The emergency management office had a great 2022 as we have been moving towards a regular operation from the years long COVID response. There are a few big projects underway that will keep the office busy and move the program forward. I’m excited that we have added some new staff and know that the hiring will continue in the next few months and bring us closer to having all vacancies filled. It’s one of my top priorities over the next few months, but not the only one. Other priority projects starting or under way include the Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan update and the COVID-19 response After Action Report. I’m hoping winter activations give us enough of a break to allow for these two projects to be completed on their current timelines. Perhaps the project I’m most excited about is the build out of a new Emergency Operations Center. Having a dedicated space to host trainings, exercises and to coordinate from during emergencies will be a huge asset. Lastly, I am thankful for all the staff that stood up during our last activation. The numbers of people coming into shelters was double what we have seen during previous winter shelter events, and yet we were able to continue to provide respite from the cold for everyone that walked in. For this and all things we have been able to accomplish, I am thankful.
Chris Voss, MCEM Director
|
|
Dec. '22 Winter Weather Activation
In mid December, as incoming cold weather developed in the long-term forecast, county-wide response partners began preparing for historically cold temperatures. Both Multnomah County and the City of Portland declared a State of Emergency beginning on Tuesday, December 20.
Actual temperatures were in line with forecasts, with wind chills close to zero degrees and the temp on Thursday not exceeding 25 degrees. Both snow and ice accumulated on Thursday and Friday.
The first County shelter preparation call was held on Monday, December 19 and the Joint Emergency Operations Center (EOC) officially opened on December 20 at a Partial Activation level.
Four 24-hour severe weather shelters (the Oregon Convention Center, Portsmouth Union, Arbor Lodge, and the Sunrise Center) opened at 8:00 PM on Wednesday, December 21. With need exceeding capacity—OCC capacity increased to 400 on Thursday night, to 700 on Friday, and to 800 Friday night—a fifth shelter (Reynolds High School) was opened at 5:00 pm on Thursday, December 22.
Shelters remained open for 60 consecutive hours and served over 1,000 individuals seeking respite from the bitterly cold weather. All five sites closed at 8:00 am on Saturday, December 24.
Outreach teams — including those from Transition Projects, JOIN, Janus Youth, Cascadia Behavioral Health, Portland Street Response, and the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office HOPE team — were in the community, making contact with vulnerable populations, providing resources and cold weather gear and sharing information about severe weather and year-round shelters. The Ground Support Unit operated 24/7 for the duration of this event, providing rides to shelters.
As of December 29, no deaths from hypothermia had been confirmed in Multnomah County from this event. One weather-related death occurred on Tuesday, December 20, due to a road accident on Highway 84 in the Columbia River Gorge during icy conditions.
We would like to extend deep appreciation and gratitude to all the many staff and volunteers who supported this activation and helped provide safety and warmth to our community!
|
|
Draft Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan Update Now Available for Review & Comment |
|
The plan provides a comprehensive view of the risks to Multnomah County from earthquake, flood, landslide, severe weather, volcano, wildfire and wildfire smoke – and strategies for lessening the impact of those future disasters. The plan update has been in process since 2021 and includes the Cities of Fairview, Gresham, Troutdale and Wood Village; Multnomah County; the Columbia Corridor Drainage Districts (Peninsula 1, Peninsula 2, Multnomah County Drainage District, and Sandy Drainage Improvement Company plus two future combined districts) and the Port of Portland.
Please provide any comments on this survey form. Comments received by February 10 will be considered for final updates to the plan, and all comments will be maintained to help guide future hazard mitigation planning. Note that this version is a draft, so there will be continuing edits and format changes before the final version of the plan is released. The mitigation actions for each participating entity are located at the beginning of their respective jurisdictional chapter. The mitigation actions are the most important part of the plan for receiving comment, as they indicate the priorities of each participating entity over the next five years.
|
|
Extent of Play Agreement Reminder
Cascadia 2023 Full-Scale Exercise
MCEM is still accepting Extent of Play Agreements (XPA) from partners for the upcoming June 2023 Full-Scale Exercise! This can be done by completing this Google Form. XPAs can be accepted up through the Initial Planning Meeting (IPM) on January 24.
The XPA identifies expected participation during the design, conduct, control, and evaluation of the upcoming Cascadia 2023 Full-Scale Exercise, as agreed to by the signatories and Multnomah County. To review the DRAFT focus areas for the exercise, review the linked document which breaks down Multnomah County play by day.
The XPAs will be reviewed during the IPM to confirm expected participation. Questions can be directed to the MCEM Training & Exercise Specialist, Robert Quinn (robert.quinn@multco.us).
|
|
FEMA Transcript Process Update
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) process for requesting education transcripts for online and in-person courses has changed.
Rather than having your transcript emailed or mailed to you, students are now able to access all their completed trainings and certificates digitally via their "Student Portal". Individuals need to know their Student Identification Number (SID) to log-on, students can locate a lost SID via this link.
A friendly reminder to make sure you have an individual filing system for all professional development certificates you accrue! Resources like FEMAs Student Portal provide a digital storage system; however, MCEM encourages everyone to also manage their own training history.
|
|
2023 AHIMTA Training & Education Symposium
The All-Hazards Incident Management Team Association (AHIMTA) Training & Education Symposium & pre-conference is coming up! This event hosts breakout and plenary sessions scheduled over six days designed to develop and strengthen the efforts of incident management teams. Attendees are industry leaders with a variety of backgrounds who come together to network, share best practices and lessons learned, and explore new technology and tactics.
Dates: March 3-8, 2023
Location: Hyatt Regency Long Beach, CA
|
|
Upcoming Training & Exercises Events
Training Offerings
Exercise Events
-
Spring Wildfire Tabletop | Initial Planning Meeting (January 10): This event will prepare for a spring wildfire tabletop exercise focused in East Multnomah County. This meeting will refine the objectives, but they are likely to focus around operational coordination, public information, and evacuation operations. For questions about this event please reach out to robert.quinn@multco.us.
-
Cascadia 2023 Full-Scale Exercise | Initial Planning Meeting (January 24): This initial planning meeting is in preparation for the June 2023 Cascadia-Event Full-Scale Exercise. DRAFT Objectives can be found in the linked document, and this meeting will be used to refine the specific focus of this exercise with county-wide partners. For questions about this event please reach out to robert.quinn@multco.us.
-
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.
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
